Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell are notorious for being open about their personal lives. Both on social media and on Dax's incredibly popular podcast, Armchair Expert, the two are basically open books. They talk about all things parenting and partnership and dig into other details of their personal lives as a couple in the public eye. It's totally refreshing! But Dax has also been open about some of his deepest struggles, like his battle with addiction.
The actor and podcast host has been sober for 16 years. He just celebrated his sobriety anniversary, which is a huge deal. His daughter wrote him the sweetest card to celebrate. Obviously, Kristen and Dax have been open with their kids about their dad's issue with addiction — which is no big shocker, since they're so open about most things.
As a result, it definitely seems like his kids understand what a massive accomplishment it is and feel very proud of their dad on his sober birthday.
Getting sober is no easy feat. Staying sober is even tougher. While addiction is something so many people struggle with, whether it's alcohol, drugs, or other various addictions, it is not something that a person can ever be cured of. It's simply something that addicts learn to live and cope with, taking it "one day at a time." But no matter what, staying clean and sober takes a huge commitment.
Dax Shepard definitely knows all about the struggle, and it seems like his whole family, kids included, do too. He just celebrated his 16th sobriety anniversary, and his daughter wrote him an adorable card to help him celebrate. His wife, Kristen Bell, shared an image of the cute and heartwarming card on Instagram.
"Today is my husband's 16th sobriety birthday," the actress wrote. "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."
It's so touching to see how Dax's family stands behind him. It's not unlikely that having such a great support system is absolutely vital to him staying clean. Addicts need all the support they can get, whether that comes from family, friends, or other recovering addicts they connect with.
It's definitely not the first time we've heard about Dax's addiction struggles. He's been open about them on his podcast and in various interviews. Last year, during an episode of his podcast, he said that he starts his day just about every day, thinking about addiction. He said, "You've got to acknowledge you are an addict every day, first thing, right when you wake up, you write a page. It doesn't even have to be about being an addict. It's just this physical activity there to remind myself, 'I have a thing that I'll never not have.'"
It's amazing that he's so transparent with his struggle. Especially because it is bound to help others who are going through the same thing. But it's really wonderful that he is open with his family, including his young daughters. While, of course, his two girls can't completely wrap their heads around what it means to be an addict, it's a powerful thing to see their honest relationship.
Also, addiction runs in the family. So while hopefully his girls won't share his same struggles, it's definitely not too early to let them know that it's something he has to work hard at in order to keep himself healthy. Perhaps if more people started talking about addiction to kids at young ages, many young people would have a better understanding about the impact drugs and alcohol can have on so many people.
Overall, Kristen and Dax just strive to be really honest and loving parents. But not only are they honest with their kids, they're honest about what being a parent is like. From Kristen sharing that her youngest child was still in diapers at night to them both diving into their relationship struggles, they really never shy away from the tough stuff.
The two are absolutely committed to being the best parents they can be. They memorably took the paparazzi to task over taking pictures of their children and other celebrity children, and they fought back over the invasion of privacy they and so many in the public eye experience. They also choose to keep their kids' faces off social media.
While obviously Dax's family is behind him, we'd just like to give him a huge congrats on celebrating 16 years of sober living. It's certainly no easy feat, and this anniversary is a massive accomplishment. It's even more amazing that he continuously shares his struggle in an effort to uplift and give hope to others.
