Hilary Duff and Joel Madden: We're and Item  6/17/05

Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden and movie beauty Hilary Duff have finally confessed they are a couple and have been dating since July 2004, when Duff was just 16 years old.

The 26-year-old singer and Duff will officially announce their romance when they co-present the MTV Video Music Awards in Miami on 28 August, because it's one month before Duff turns 18 - the legal age to have sexual intercourse in California.

Duff famously romanced pop hunk Aaron Carter in 2003 during his relationship with Lindsay Lohan, but she prefers the modest, introspective personality of her new lover, Madden, reports newspaper USA Today.

The press speculated the couple denied reports they were dating because Madden could be arrested for statutory rape if he seduced the underage star, but Duff insists nothing will change when she comes of age: "I don't feel like there's anything that I can do when I'm 18 that I can't do now. Nothing's going to change."

She adds, "Compared to any young Hollywood-actor dude, Joel is so normal.

He's not a partier. He's not a crazy rock star. He doesn't trash his room. And I like the way he looks, obviously.

"You see them on stage and it's pretty hot. As a good and honest girl he helps me explore the flip side of myself, the darker side."

see also:

5/1/05 Hilary Duff's Mother Praises Joel Madden