Cameron Diaz Enjoys Retirement after Becoming a Mom at 47: 'Now I Have to Live to 107'

Cameron Diaz retired before turning 50 and after welcoming her first child. The actress's goal now was to live until a ripe old age because she wanted to be around long enough for her child.

In April 2012, Cameron Diaz spoke to InStyle magazine about how she didn't have any expectations concerning becoming a mother. She noted how society put a lot of pressure on women about what direction their lives should go.

The "Charlie's Angels" star explained that she'd never mentioned not wanting children but just happened not to have them then. She confessed that she didn't know what direction her life would take.

So she opted to live without any expectations and go with the flow. In April 2014, before meeting and falling in love with her husband, "The Other Woman" star revealed that she didn't have a "fixed opinion on motherhood."

Since she was receiving a lot of pressure about why she wasn't a mother yet, the actress felt the need to defend herself. Diaz explained that she'd never decided motherhood wasn't part of her life plans.

The star said if she wanted children at any point in her life, she would have them. Diaz noted how that would be fulfilled through pregnancy, adoption, or by dating someone who already had a child, adding:

"I can’t see the future, but one thing I do know is that I’m not childless. I have a ton of children in my life. I can have a kid any second, if I want."

She also shared that many of her girlfriends didn't have children too. Diaz explained that she wasn't a spinster who didn't want any offspring but knew the choices she made and why, but also preferred living in the moment.

During her 2014 Marie Claire interview, the actress confessed that she wasn't looking for a husband but also wasn't not looking. The star was living life and not contemplating what she should or shouldn't be doing, noting:

"We live in a society where everyone has kids, so they want other people to have kids."

Diaz said she wouldn't have children because society expected it from her. She felt if the right time came for her to have a family or children, she would do just that and not according to people's expectations.

MEETING THE LOVE OF HER LIFE

In May 2012, at age 39, Diaz revealed to Redbook that she initially thought by 21, she would've been married with two children! However, the "What to Expect When You're Expecting" star postponed that dream because of her rising career.

In September 2021, during the "Anna Faris Is Unqualified" podcast, the actress shared about meeting the love of her life, Benji Madden. She met the Good Charlotte singer in 2014 through her sister-in-law Nicole Richie.

Richie happens to be married to Benji's twin, Joel Madden. After meeting Richie and her husband, she got introduced to Benji, who was in the same room, and the pair just hit it off.

Before they even interacted, Diaz had already noticed him as he walked in her direction. She thought he was hot and wondered why she hadn't seen him until then but knew at that moment that he was exceptional and the "hidden gem in my life."

After dating for seven months, the two got engaged, and on January 5, 2015, they tied the knot! The couple's wedding ceremony was star-studded, with around 96 people as guests attending at the actress' Beverly Hills home.

Benji and Diaz's vows only took 15 minutes. The "Annie" star's event was organized by Stefanie Cove and Yifat Oren and featured a Jewish ceremony with a stage set up inside the star's home.

In 2016, the actress revealed that she and her husband got married in the living room before having a party on the tennis court. That same year, she romantically confessed to Andy Cohen that nothing else mattered now that she had her husband, adding:

"That's why I know he's my husband, no one compares. ...You realize this is what the real thing is. This is what real love is."

Meeting Benji also made her notice his genuine devotion and commitment and that he was the one she wanted to build her life with. Diaz explained that she knew their relationship and that it was special.

The star was 42 when she finally became someone's wife because she hadn't met the right person who'd become her husband. She noted how Benji was her true partner in everything in her life.

BECOMING A PARENT

In December 2019, Diaz reached another milestone when she welcomed their first child and daughter, Raddix! The couple took to Instagram to give the surprise announcement (no one knew they were expecting) on January 3, 2020, welcoming the New Year by saying:

“We are so happy, blessed, and grateful to begin this new decade by announcing the birth of our daughter, Raddix Madden."

According to an Us Weekly source, Diaz and her husband spent years trying to welcome a baby by trying a natural way and adopting. Their daughter arrived via surrogate, and the insider claimed, "Cameron feels like this baby is truly a miracle."

Despite any misgivings, the former actress [Cameron Diaz] noted that the level she was on was her "sweet spot" and that it was the happiest time of her life.

When the star turned 40, she felt like she had many parts of her life that she wasn't managing or even touching and decided to retire from acting. The actress did that because she wanted to make her life manageable.

"The Mask" star had become exhausted with having parts of her life "handed off to other people," Diaz said before making that change; she hadn't had time for having a husband or children and now had space to spend with her family.

CAMERON FOUND FULFILLMENT

Having Benji and their child left Diaz feeling "whole" and happy after she left her career. During a February 2021 appearance on SiriusXM's "Quarantined with Bruce," the star confessed that being a mother and a wife was the most "fulfilling part" of her life so far.

The former actress was quite deserving as she'd waited for all these things to happen. Diaz once noted to Naomi Campbell that she'd done the whole motherhood in the second half of her life, unlike most people, before joking:

"The only pressure for me now is that I have to live to be like 107."

Despite any misgivings, the former actress noted that the level she was on was her "sweet spot" and that it was the happiest time of her life. She also mentioned how the moment she was living in was the most gratifying, adding:

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

During the interview, Campbell noticed that Diaz looked happier and more beautiful nowadays. The supermodel described the former actress as "glowing" compared to before she reached the right balance in her life.