Cameron Diaz wanted a low-key 50th birthday celebration. And while she spent her big day accompanied by some very famous stars, she got her wish, even if she had to skillfully dodge her husband to get him on board.

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In an appearance on The Rachael Ray Show, Diaz talked about her husband, Benji Madden, and how much he loves a birthday celebration. “When we first met, our first year together, he threw me three surprise birthdays,” Diaz said “One day surprise birthday, the next day I thought we were going to dinner, another surprise birthday. I was like ‘That has to be it,’ and then another surprise. I was like, ‘Would you please stop doing this? You’re making people show up… It’s the same group of people! Why are they being forced to hide in a bathroom?”

For her 50th birthday, Diaz shared that Madden wanted to do something big, which she managed to avoid. Still, as the date creeped closer, Madden grew more stressed. “Every day he was like ‘Hon, I need to talk to you. Can you come in my office real quick?’ and I’m like… ‘What’s it gonna be?’” She skirted the topic by telling him that she’d think about it and never getting back to him with any ideas. “And I could see the panic on his face coming in like a week beforehand. ‘What are we gonna do?’” Diaz said, deepening her voice. “I could see he was so panicked.”

In the end, Diaz had dinner with some friends who were in town, including Nicole Richie, Zoe Saldaña, Adele, Leslie Mann and Judd Apatow.

“Cameron was wonderful. She had the best time celebrating her birthday,” said a source to People Magazine. “She was laughing and very much enjoying herself. She kept hugging Benji and her friends.”