Cameron Diaz’s Husband Benji Madden Gave Her the Best Pep Talk for Returning to Work: ‘Let Mommy Ascend’

It doesn’t matter if it’s been 6 weeks or 6 years (or longer) since you’ve taken off work to raise a family — it’s hard to go back to work no matter what. One thing that can make a big difference in your confidence level is a supportive partner, which we are always huge proponents of! Cameron Diaz took a nearly10-year break from acting to raise her family, and she just revealed the inspiring pep talk her husband Benji Madden gave her when she un-retired from acting to star in 2025’s Back in Action.

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“We were in the house for a long time, which was amazing,” the Charlie’s Angels star said in an Oct. 15 conversation at Fortune ’s Most Powerful Women Summit, per E! News . The 52-year-old and her husband share daughter Raddix, 4, and son Cardinal, 6 months, who were born via surrogate.

“So, I had to push myself. My husband, he’s just the best,” she continued. “He was just like, ‘You’ve been supporting us and building the family.’ And supporting him in his businesses. He’s like, ‘It’s time for us to support you and let mommy ascend and do her do her thing.’”

How amazing is that? The Good Charlotte rocker is such a huge supporter of his wife, and you love to see it. Not to mention, their unwavering support and love for each other is such a wonderful example for their children. (It’s not just the mom’s job to support the husband; it needs to work the other way around too!)

Just because Diaz hasn’t been acting since 2014, doesn’t mean she hasn’t been working. She is the co-founder/creator of Avaline Wines among other projects. Still, stepping away from the spotlight for a time was right for Diaz. “It felt like the right thing for me to reclaim my own life, and I just really didn’t care about anything else,” she said at the Fortune event. “Nobody’s opinion, nobody’s success, no one’s offer, no one’s anything could change my mind about my decision of taking care of myself and building the life that I really wanted to have.  I think it’s it really comes to what are you passionate about? For me it was to build my family.”

I love how open she is about that! Everybody can’t switch careers or take a step back to focus on their kids, but if you can, it’s important to know that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that choice. Finding what works for your family is crucial.

In a previous interview with Naomi Campbell’s No Filter , the Bad Teacher star opened up about becoming a mom later in life. “I feel like a lot of people do it the other way around … they get married, they have a family in their youth. I’m kind of doing it in the second half of my life.”

“Having a family when you’re young…it’s like anything when you’re young: You do it. But when you’re my age and you decide to do it, it’s a real choice. You really have to work hard for it,” she added.

These celebrity parents have admitted to struggling with work-life balance .