Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have been together for quite some time. And while many view their relationship as real and honest, others are wondering what things are really like behind closed doors. While Kristen and Dax have never sugarcoated the tough parts of marriage, they also seem to reveal a lot of interesting quirks that, to others, read as being a bit alarming.
Aside from the times when they give each other the silent treatment or get so mad at each other that they "black out," in 2021 Kristen revealed that the two happen to share the same therapist. Getting a therapist is a wonderful step in the right direction. But revealing that they use the therapist to complain about each other? Maybe not.
The couple have two daughters at home, which makes their tactics a bit harder to grasp. While they're actively working all issues out, it also seems like the ones they make public may lead to a tense household.
Kristen revealed the 2021 bombshell on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, on an episode where Chelsea Handler took over Ellen's hosting role. Kristen talked about how quarantine had hit the household quite hard. That's the relatable aspect of it — many families had to change their whole routine in order to survive this past year and a half. However, she dove into their therapy sessions, which seemed a bit personal.
"At the beginning of the pandemic, we were at each other's throats, and then all the doors locked in our house, like we had to stay inside, and we were like, 'Woof, we need to get a handle on the annoyances,'" Kristen said. Again, it's relatable. Not all of us were used to being at home, and for celebrities who often travel for projects? It must have been a highly unusual situation.
She talked about Harry, the couples counselor who works with both Kristen and Dax. She told Chelsea that Harry suggested the two see him separately. Reason being, then they'd both be able to air grievances about each other in a safe and quiet place.
"He suggested we go to therapy separately, kinda so that we could talk (expletive) about each other," Kristen explained. "And we did, and it's been great. What we've been doing the last couple months is, every two weeks or so, I'll see Harry via Zoom and complain about Dax, and then he'll give me all the reasons why I'm wrong, and then Dax will do the same."
Therapy is an excellent tool to get through these hurdles. But having a standing appointment to talk trash on your spouse is a bit unsettling. Kristen and Dax haven't hidden the fact that their marriage needs a lot of work. But they're so quick to tell stories to the media that make it sound like, deep down, they have too many incompatibilities.
This isn't the first and won't be the last time they've made headlines over issues like this. Later on, Dax complained that Kristen gets a lot more attention than he does. It's an issue that seems strange for an adult father to admit to the media, especially since his daughters are 6 and 8 and will likely someday come across the stories their parents told.
"My wife is more successful than me," Dax said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. "So the pattern of our life, this has happened numerous times, I find out that I was a Jeopardy clue and she goes, 'Oh yeah isn’t it fun?' I realized, not only you already did it but it wasn't exciting enough to tell me, so now I feel stupid."
But that wasn't it. "Another classic one is I have 16 years of sobriety, which I lost; let's not get into that," Dax said. "I posted something about it; no one gave a [expletive] because they shouldn't. Then my wife wrote this beautiful thing about congratulating me. That became a whole news cycle. America was celebrating Kristen for being so kind to me on my anniversary. I was like, 'Did you get 16 years today?'"
Those conversations didn't necessarily come off as being quirky and fun. In a way, it almost seems like Dax resents his wife for being successful at her job. These stories are the ones they feel are OK to share publicly, making people wonder what other resentments they might be hiding.
Having fights and disagreements with your spouse can happen. But it seems like the two revel in telling behind-the-scenes stories during interviews that are a bit more cringey than relatable. One story that hit in early 2020 was about a fight so bad that Kristen could only solve it by getting a rescue puppy. While Kristen is a huge dog lover and advocate for rescues, her husband happens to be allergic.
"We both blacked out and got into a fight and I don't actually remember what happened but what transpired was a lot of volume, a lot of harsh words being thrown around. It was an angry, angry fight about how nobody does anything for anybody else," Kristen said, per Insider. Three days of silence followed before Kristen brought home the dog.
Hopefully, Kristen and Dax both know that they wouldn't lose their fans or anyone's respect if they ever did decide to separate. But for now, maybe they should focus more on couples counseling and hold back on airing personal grievances on talk shows. If things really are OK between them, they're misleading fans to think otherwise.
