How Benji and Joel Madden Went From Bad Boy Rockers to Reliable Husbands

Double the rockers, double the tattoos, quadruple the ladies.

When Good Charlotte first broke out on the music scene in 2000, the twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden at the center of punk band sang all about the unrelatable woes and superficial values of celebrities in Hollywood in "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous."

The song would become their first hit and—in an ironic twist—make them card-holding members of the rich and the famous, complete with their own A-list celebrity wives at their respective sides: Joel has been married to Nicole Richie for eight years and Benji wed Cameron Diaz in 2015.

Ah yes, it would be such a cliché and classic "sellout" tale if the Maddens, who turn 40 on March 11, weren't such supportive, loyal and private husbands, a far cry from the playboy personas they had over a decade ago. 

Joel's first serious Hollywood romance was one that garnered a lot of attention, as it was with Disney Channel star Hilary Duff. The couple's eight-year age gap raised eyebrows, especially because the Lizzie McGuire starlet was just 16 when they first began dating, though they didn't publicly confirm their romance until later on. 

Given her squeaky clean image and his rocker look, they seemed like polar opposites, an assumption they shot down in a joint interview for Teen People back in 2006. 

"You're automatically prejudging us because Joel has tattoos or I have blond hair," Hil told the magazine, "he has tattoos so he's bad, I smile all the time so I'm perfect."





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