Joel Madden says he and Nicole Richie are getting ready for baby

Having just returned from Good Charlotte’s tour in Australia, Joel Madden and Nicole Richie are happily returning to life in LA, and preparing themselves for parenthood.  Joel said that despite a variety of rumors about the couple lately — don’t believe everything you read. 

[We're] really happy. Everything else that the others have printed has been completely false.

Said Nicole, per the the New York Post’s report that she’d been spotted smoking recently in the Big Apple,

[It's] false and unsubstantiated.  The healthy birth of my child is my No. 1 priority.

Joel said that their baby, due in early January, is "the most exciting thing that’s ever happened to me, and to us," adding, 

Now we’re just getting home, getting settled in L.A. and getting ready.

The child will be the first for the couple, who announced the pregnancy this summer. 

Source:  People