Joel Madden is still just as in love with Nicole Richie after a decade of marriage.
Madden, 44, gushed over Richie, 42, and their family ahead of their upcoming 13th wedding anniversary. “She’s beautiful. That’s my queen,” he said on the Tamron Hall Show on Tuesday, November 7. “She’s been the greatest partner. I feel lucky.”
The musician, who shares daughter Harlow, 15, and son Sparrow, 14, with Richie, also reflected on being with his wife for nearly 17 years. “The only thing I’ve done longer than 17 years is the band,” he added in reference to Good Charlotte, which includes his twin brother, Benji Madden.
Joel said Richie has been a “big part” of his journey with personal identity. 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.”
Joel and Richie started dating in 2006 after they were introduced by a mutual friend at a party. “When I first would see her around, we were friends,” Joel told Australia’s 60 Minutes in 2013. ”But I don’t think I’m the obvious choice. I’m always like, ‘Just give me a shot. Just give me one date.’ If I can get my foot in the door.”
They announced their engagement in 2010 and tied the knot later that year.
Richie previously opened up about how the couple keep things fresh over the years. “We love to laugh and have fun,” she exclusively told Us Weekly in September 2019. “It’s nice doing the journey of life together. Doing it with somebody else that has the same goals as you is a really fun way to live.”
Three years later, she told ET Canada that she doesn’t “have a secret” for her long-lasting marriage. “We just let each other be ourselves,” she added. “We have fun.”
Joel, meanwhile, has used social media to show off his love for Richie. “Happy birthday, Nicole. You’ve made love feel timeless, I’ve forgotten how old we are,” he wrote via Instagram in 2021.
