Actress Cameron Diaz says that the secret to long-lasting relationships is to have someone in the same place as you are.

The 42-year-old, who has dated an array of high-profile men in the past including Matt Dillon, Jared Leto, Justin Timberlake, Alex Rodriguez and is in the midst rumours of being engaged to musician Benji Madden, talks about her failed relationships and how to become lucky in love, reports contactmusic.com.

`You have to find someone in the same place as you are. Timing is everything," she told Cosmopolitan magazine's January 2015 issue.

"If you get into a relationship where you want something the guy doesn't want, it's never gonna work. You're never going to get him to be in that place. No matter how old you are, finding the guy who's in the same place as you are and wants to show up is the only way a relationship works, period`.

The actress sparked engagement rumours in October when she was spotted wearing a gold ring while attending the Hollywood Costume exhibition luncheon.

Diaz didn't answer any question about her marriage, but she did discuss her former flames.

`Here's the thing. You make the same mistake over and over again until you learn your lesson," she said about dating the wrong men.

`We girls sometimes do the thing where we pick the same person over and over again - they look and seem different, but deep down, they're the same. And that's on us,` she added.