Cameron Diaz is set to be in one of the first 2025 movies, Back In Action, bringing her out of her retirement from acting. While Diaz has been away from the profession, she has had a successful marriage with Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden. The couple welcomed their second child in 2024 after having a daughter together in 2019. But, how did their love story begin? It actually all starts with Benji’s brother, Joel Madden and an airplane.
Cameron Diaz Met Joel Madden Before Falling In Love With His Brother
When Cameron Diaz guested on Artist Friendly With Joel Madden, she and her brother-in-law recalled the sweet way their meeting led to her marriage to her now-husband.
As they recalled, they became connected through Joel Madden’s wife, Nicole Richie, who the Good Charlotte lead singer has been with since 2006. While Richie and Gwyneth Paltrow went to take an exercise class Diaz wasn’t into, she ended up chatting with Joel Madden for two hours.
The pair quickly hit it off, as they recalled the following:
- Joel Madden: “And then, I told you all there – you don’t remember maybe – I said ‘Benj and you would be great together.”
- Cameron Diaz: “And then Gwyneth later said, ‘You know, he has a twin brother.’ And I was like ‘Yeah?’ [Shrugs] Great?’ I was like ‘Is it because he’s already taken that I’d just like…’?’”
While Diaz brushed off the suggestion at the time, the actress crossed paths with Joel Madden again about a year and a half later on a plane.
Here’s what happened next…
But, Joel Madden Wasn’t Confident He Could Get Diaz
Cut to 2014 when Cameron Diaz was flying back from Australia while promoting The Other Woman. She ran into Joel Madden on her flight, and they hung out again. In Madden’s words:
I got off that flight, it was a great hang. It was the best. We hung out for like three hours on that 13-hour flight… But then when I got home, I was like ‘Here’s the deal dude, she’s great, she’s fucking amazing. I knew, you guys are going to be great friends and you’ll be lucky to know each other as friends because you’re both amazing, but it’s never going to happen.
It sounds like after running into Diaz again, Joel Madden was once again invested in his brother and The Holiday actress being a good match. However, he just didn’t believe it would work out.
So, he went home and told his brother about it but suggested it was “never going to happen.”
How Benji Madden And Cameron Diaz Became Husband And Wife
Sometimes dissuading someone can actually help their chances. Just look at Romeo and Juliet (for a minute there, at least). Or, for a more successful story, look at this tale about Diaz and her now-husband, Benji Madden.
To that point, the Charlie’s Angles actress said this in response to the comments Joel Madden made to his brother:
You know what he did with that? He took that as a fucking challenge is what he did. Turn that shit up… and then, I think seven months later we were engaged.
Hey, if you put your mind to it, anything can be achieved, and Benji Madden and Cameron Diaz were the right fit for each other after all.
Joel Madden continued this fun story with these words:
But maybe, that’s what you both needed. You needed someone with that literal fearlessness and determination, that ‘I don’t give a fuck about what you say he thinks, I have a feeling and I’m going to get after that and see if I’m right.’ And you are exactly what he needed to aspire to.
How sweet is this story? Cameron Diaz might be done with rom-coms, but it sounds like she lived one! And she still is, as she now shares two lovely kids with her husband.
Now, while we hold out hope for more stories about Diaz and Benji’s love story, you can check out the actress in the trailer for Back In Action ahead of its release for those with a Netflix subscription on January 17.