Addiction is one of the hardest health issues to overcome. Even after years of sobriety, someone who has struggled with addiction might easily fall back into old, dangerous habits and relapse. Despite recently celebrating an anniversary for his sobriety, actor Dax Shepard has admitted that he fell off the wagon after dealing with a medical issue.
While filming the show Parenthood, Dax got into a motorcycle accident that required painkillers as part of his treatment. Typically, wife Kristen Bell was the one who handed them out. This helped Dax feel more in control. But unfortunately, during a trip to visit his ailing father, Dax had to be the one doling out the prescriptions.
"So I give [my dad] a bunch of Percocet and then I go, 'I have a prescription for this, and I was in a motorcycle accident, and I'm gonna take some too,'" he said on his podcast, Armchair Expert. He also admitted that he "probably took twice" what his own prescription indicated.
"My dad and I sat in his living room and stared at the lake," he continued. "We had so little in common and so much friction but the number one thing we had in common was that we were fu*king addicts. And we had never used anything together. We sat there stoned."
At the time, Dax said that Kristen was nothing but supportive after the trip to see his dad. "She's like, 'You clearly need to call someone in AA, but I would say you're fu*ked up from this accident, you got high with your dad, keep it moving. You don't need to redefine it. You didn't lose eight years,' which was so comforting."
But even that was hard to put behind him. As Dax admitted, painkillers were still a part of his life. "Then I get hurt again," he said. "Maybe I don't want to take them at night because I can't sleep when I take them, so when I get my two at night I don't actually eat them and I keep them for tomorrow morning so I can make it the dose I want it to be. That cycle happens maybe three or four more times."
And it then reached a point where he was out of control. As Dax admitted, he'd been "on them all day," for roughly eight weeks. "I'm allowed to be on them at some dosage — because I have a prescription — but then I'm also augmenting that," he said. "And then all of the prescriptions run out."
As expected, Kristen has continued with her support. She was recently on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she opened up about Dax's relapse. She was happy that Dax wasn't in denial over what happened. Instead, he was self-aware — which is helping make his recovery slightly easier for the family.
"He was able to tell me and tell us and say, we need a different plan," The Good Place actress stated. "If he has to take medication for any reason, I have to administer it." But she said that Dax is also looking at the situation from an emotional and mental standpoint. According to Kristen, Dax said, "I was faltering and I have to do some sort of emotional work to figure out why I wanted to use again."
"He was like, I don't want to risk this family and I did, so let's put new things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again," Kristen said. "And he's — you know, we're going back to therapy — and I will continue to stand by him, 'cause he's very, very worth it." The two initially met back in 2007 and got married in 2013.
Initially, there weren't any sparks between them. But eventually, as time went on, the two began to flirt and then started a relationship. Dax admits that when he first met Kristen and her friends, he thought something was off due to her positivity. In fact, he said he thought she might be in a cult.
"I was suspicious of their unbridled happiness," he said to Good Housekeeping. "I thought, 'Something stinks here; they're in a cult.' But slowly I began to see her positive way of looking at the world. She gives people the benefit of the doubt." Therapy has reportedly been part of their relationship from the very beginning.
Dealing with addiction can be tough for any family, but it's especially stressful for families who have children. Kristen and Dax have two — their firstborn daughter, Lincoln, is 7, and daughter Delta is 5 going on 6. Kristen has admitted that she has talked to her daughters about addiction before. On Instagram, she's shared photos of cards her kids have made for their dad's "sobriety birthday."
"Today is my husband's 15th sobriety birthday," she wrote on Instagram this September. "My daughter woke him up with this sign, and a sketch of the one and only Ronald Weasley(absolutely random, and also perfect). Happy birthday Daxy. Thank you for dedicating your life to the hard and wonderful work of sobriety, so that we could share it with you."
Dax's attitude toward drugs is still somewhat open. In fact, according to Good Morning America, Dax said that he'd have no problem with his daughters experimenting with marijuana and magic mushrooms. "Just don't do cocaine or opiates," he warned. Still, some may feel as if it's dangerous advice.
While it's normal for experimentation, addiction does run in the family — as Dax realized with his own father. According to Willingway, a drug and alcohol treatment facility, "Yes, genetic makeup can increase the risk of substance use disorder. However, it is very important to remember that many other factors impact these outcomes. Just because a parent struggles with a disorder does not mean their children will, too."
Yet it seems as if Dax really wants to improve. And Kristen sees that spark in him, too. "One of the main reasons I love him is that he's also addicted to growth," Kristen said. "He's addicted to evolving." So while this is a step back, he's already on the path toward self-improvement, for him and his family.
While Kristen and Dax have both admitted that their marriage isn't easy or flawless, it's a reminder that the best partner is one who'll support you through rough periods of time. A good partner wants you to be the best version of yourself. Based on how Kristen approached the topic with Ellen, it's apparent she'll always be by Dax's side when personal matters get tough to handle.
