Cameron Diaz shares what she has learned from husband Benji Madden: ‘He’s really taught me to value myself’

‘With our marriage, I learned how to really go all in’

(Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for SiriusXM)

Cameron Diaz has opened up about her relationship with Benji Madden, who she married in 2015, and what he’s taught her.

Diaz, 49, reflected on what she has learned from the musician, 42, during a recent appearance on Michelle Visage’s new BBC podcast, Rule Breakers, where she revealed that Madden has taught her to make herself a priority.

“He’s really taught me to value myself a lot more,” she explained. When Visage asked Diaz if she “expected that from her partner,” the Charlie’s Angels star said that she did not.

“I didn’t, because I think that I was receiving so much validation elsewhere in all these other ways,” Diaz responded. “With our marriage, I learned how to really go all in. You know what I mean? Completely like, nothing else comes before this.”

According to Diaz, who shares two-year-old daughter, Raddix, with Madden, her marriage is what she values the most in life.

“It’s not hard to do because it’s the most valuable thing I have,” Diaz said about her relationship. “We both just go like, ‘it doesn’t matter.’ We know that no matter what, we can just go and be just a family anywhere and we’re fine. We don’t need any of the things that we have, except each other.”

The actor also shared additional praise for Madden, who she described as someone who’s always there for her.

“He’s just a guy I can count on,” she added. “He’s hilarious and he’s so funny. And he’s the best dad ever. I could cry, he’s just the best.”

During an appearance of Anna Faris’ podcast, Anna Faris is Unqualified, last September, Diaz shared that she met Madden through his twin brother, Joel and his wife, Nicole Richie.

Cameron Diaz and Benji Madden with Vicky Vlachonis (Jason Kempin/Getty Images for Goop)

“I met [Benji] 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,” she recalled. “Then we found each other.”

Diaz also noted how both before and after their first interaction, her now-husband had caught her eye.

“I saw him walking towards me and I was like, ‘Huh, he’s hot, I haven’t seen him before,” she continued. “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.’”