Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard got married in 2013, and since then, it seems like neither has looked back. But of course, every relationship takes work, and in a Nov. 16 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Bell opened up about the most important component of her marriage.
“Stay vulnerable,” the actor said. “At least, [that’s] my secret. You’ve gotta be vulnerable — we have to be vulnerable when we don’t want to be. That’s what works for us.”
Both Bell and Shepard have previously been open about going to therapy to keep their relationship healthy. “We met, we fell in love, we’re both very stubborn people, and year one and two was turbulent, and we thought we need outside opinions,” Bell said in an April interview on ITV’s “This Morning,” per Insider. “We need a bigger toolbox — everyone’s born with a tiny toolbox — so we went to therapy, we figured out how to disagree but still love each other.”
Shepard agreed, opening up about couples’ therapy in a 2018 episode of his podcast “Armchair Expert” that featured Bell. “This is where an objective outside therapist helps,” Shepard said. “Because he can go ‘I know exactly what’s happening. He’s hearing this and you’re hearing that.'”
Bell and Shepard have two children, Delta and Lincoln, and the pair have also been transparent about their parenting trials and tribulations. In May 2021, Bell shared on Instagram how she stopped her daughters from fighting. She told them “we can spend our time on hate and fear(revenge, grudges, gossip, etc) or we can spend our time on love and kindness(nurturing, smiling, showing thankfulness),” she wrote, adding that “I know this won’t last, and they will scream swears at each other again tomorrow, but for today, I’m content.” We love a family that knows how to handle conflict in a healthy way.