Cameron Diaz Makes Rare Admission About Her Husband Benji Madden

Cameron Diaz and Good Charlotte‘s Benji Madden are one of Hollywood’s odd couples that have really seemed to make it work. In a recent episode of the Michelle Visage’s Rule Breakers podcast, the Charlie’s Angels star opened up about her marriage to Madden and how they’ve helped each other grow as individuals and together. “He’s really taught me to value myself a lot more,” she said.

Diaz explained that she “was receiving so much validation elsewhere and in all these other ways” before she really connected with Madden. “With our marriage, I learned how to really go all in. You know what I mean? … Nothing else comes before this,” she continued. “It’s not hard to do, because it’s the most valuable thing I have.”

Diaz and Madden have been married since 2015 and share a 2-year-old daughter named Raddix. “We know that, no matter what, we can just go and be just a family anywhere, and we’re fine,” she said on the podcast. “We don’t need any of the things that we have, other than each other.” Diaz also praised Madden as “just a guy I can totally count on.”

“I married a mensch,” Diaz said jokingly. “I know how hard it is to find. … He’s hilarious and he’s so funny. And he’s the best dad ever. I could cry, because he’s just the best.”

Diaz first met Madden through her now-sister-in-law, Nicole Richie, who is married to Madden’s twin brother Joel. “I met mine through my now sister-in-law and brother-in-law, I met them first and then they didn’t set us up but we were in the same room because of them, and then we found each other,” she explained, as reported by People magazine during an appearance on Anna Faris’ podcast last year.

Despite Madden being a twin, she says the brothers are polar opposites, and she’s not attracted to his twin. “They’re not the same, they’re so different,” Diaz said. “Even though they’re twins, they’re very, very different obviously. I saw him [Benji] walking towards me and I was like, ‘Huh, he’s hot, I haven’t seen him before.’ But then when I saw him, like who he was, that’s what made me really be like, ‘Oh you, you’re special, you’re the guy, you’re the hidden gem in my life,’” she gushed.