Joel Madden revealed the key to a successful marriage with his wife, Nicole Richie.
During his appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show on Wednesday, November 15, Joel, 44, opened up about his nearly 13-year marriage to Richie, 42. Host Drew Barrymore, who is close friends with Joel’s sister-in-law Cameron Diaz (the actress has been married to Joel’s twin brother, Benji, since 2015), said she has gotten to know Richie through Diaz.
“I was like, ‘This is the coolest woman ever,’” Barrymore, 48, recalled of meeting Richie.
“The more you know her, the more you love her,” Joel agreed. “It takes time to get to know her. But she’s just classy.” The Good Charlotte frontman added that Richie’s parents, Lionel Richie and Brenda Harvey-Richie, “did a good job” and “raised someone with a lot of integrity and a lot of class.”
When it comes to their 12-year marriage, Joel said that he and Nicole both do “lots of therapy.”
“I don’t think we pretend to be perfect either,” he continued. “I think we’re all human.”
Barrymore praised the couple for their “beautiful life together,” with their two children, daughter Harlow, 15, and son Sparrow, 14.
Joel gushed that his kids have been “easy” to raise. “We got lucky with our kids. They’re easy,” said the musician. “I always tell my kids, you make it so easy to be a dad. They’re just good kids. They really are. They’re great. And I think they’re like their mom.”
Joel and Nicole started dating in 2006 and got married in 2010. They welcomed daughter Harlow in 2008 and son Sparrow in 2009.
Ahead of their 13th wedding anniversary, Joel shared his appreciation for Nicole and their 17-year relationship on the Tamron Hall Show. “She’s beautiful. That’s my queen,” he said on the November 7 episode. “She’s been the greatest partner. I feel lucky.”
“The only thing I’ve done longer than 17 years is the band,” he added in reference to Good Charlotte.
He also mentioned that his wife has been a “big part” of his journey with personal identity and that he now wants his children to learn to “be yourself and to love yourself.”
“Because it took me a long time to learn that,” he explained. “You’re talking about putting yourself out there and I think you can put yourself out there in the wrong way, too. So, you have to love yourself first and I think you have to put yourself out there in the right way.”
