While Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are notoriously private when it comes to their children, they've been unexpectedly open about their marriage - especially by Hollywood standards.
The couple have been married since 2013 and have two daughters, Lincoln and Delta, together, but they certainly don't pretend everything is rosy all the time.
In fact, the couple who now happily live together in their $4.3million LA mansion had their fair share of ups and downs and even break-ups before they got to the nearly ten-year-strong marriage we know and love today.
INSIDE: Kristen and Dax's amazing LA home
When did Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell meet?
The two popular actors met at a birthday party for their mutual friend, producer Shauna Robertson.
Speaking of her first impression of Dax when they met at the sushi restaurant where this party was taking place, Kristen told Today in 2019: "The only thing that I remember is that he talked so much. I was like: 'This guy can talk!'"
© Photo: InstagramThe now happy couple didn't exactly hit it off during their first meeting
Speaking with Good Housekeeping in 2015, Dax gave an insight into his own first impressions of Kristen.
"When I met her and her friends, I was suspicious of their unbridled happiness", he said. "I thought, 'Something stinks here; they're in a cult.' But slowly I began to see her positive way of looking at the world.
Two weeks after their first meeting, the Veronica Mars and Parenthood stars met again at a hockey game. This time, they began to show more of an interest in each other.
© Photo: Getty ImagesKristen and Dax love hockey and both support the Detroit Red Wings
"[We] started to flirt, left, and then a day after that I get a text that says 'Hi, my name is Dax. I violated your privacy and got your number from Shauna. How do you feel about that?'" Kristen told Today. "And I was like 'Excuse me? You sound stimulating.'"
When did the pair fall in love?
While it's impossible to say exactly when the couple fell in love, Kristen has claimed she believes she fell in love with Dax before he fell in love with her.
Both actors have been honest that their path to happiness together wasn't always simple. The Armchair Expert host who was no stranger to celebrity romance was in an open relationship prior to meeting the actress, and this caused some tension in their relationship early on.
"There was a ton of jealousy, for pretty good reasons," he revealed on The Drew Barrymore Show when discussing the early years of his romance with Kristen.
Now the couple are closer than ever
"I had been in an open relationship for nine years, I was blacked out a big chunk of my life. You know, there were a lot of things for her [Kristen] to be concerned about."
Dax - who has also been open about his battles with addiction - and Kristen had both come out of relationships and initially, the Frozen actress said there were "no sparks whatsoever" when they were introduced in 2007.
However she went on to say in the same Today interview that: "I fell in love with him way before he fell in love with me."
Are they still together?
Yes, the two stars are still together and enjoy celebrating their strong bond on social media, be that through sharing images of a chilled date night or very light-heartedly calling time on their relationship. But while romance between the two has blossomed over the years, their relationship has not been without its genuine issues.
In an interview with PopSugar in 2017, Kristen revealed that the comedian broke up with her after three months of dating: "He sat me down and said, 'I can't have this right now. I think you're wonderful, but I am still dating other people.'" she revealed. However after just a few days the couple got back together.
© Photo: Getty ImagesKristen and Dax love joking around
Later, explaining how the stars' relationship remained rocky at times, the Gossip Girl narrator said on the talk show Harry in 2017: "The first year, you are working out your kinks. I loved it.
"We'd get in a fight — because we would fight, a lot — and I'd, like, yell something then slam the bedroom door, then I'd slam the front door, then I'd get in my car and then I'd skid out the driveway, and then I would sit around the corner in my car.
"And it felt so good, and I realized how incredibly toxic it was only after he pointed it out."
This rollercoaster ride is the reason why the pair decided to better their relationship through therapy, both joint and by themselves. The pair found this therapy came in especially useful during the COVID-19 pandemic when they spent more time together than ever.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThough it's been tough at times, the two have remained strong together
"The reality is, if you're living with one human being — I don't care if it's your partner, or your husband, or your wife, whoever it is, your roommate — you need to brush up on your toolbox," Kristen said on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. "Because you will find that person annoying. Relationships take work."
"[Our therapist] suggested that we go to therapy separately, kind of so that we could talk [expletive] about each other," she laughed. "And we did! And it's been great!"
Are Dax and Kristen married?
Yes, the Hollywood stars got married in 2013 in a ceremony at the Beverly Hills Courthouse for an unconventionally low price. The couple had got engaged all the way back in 2009, but waited for marriage equality to be achieved in California before they tied the knot.
In an interview with PrideSource Kristen explained the duo's choice to wait was because they felt it would be disrespectful to their gay friends to get married before they could. "What [were] we gonna do?" she asked rhetorically, "Have a party and be like, 'Look at us celebrating this thing you can't do?' That’s [expletive] putrid," the actress explained.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe couple are firm allies with the LGBTQ+ community
While it's been difficult to navigate their careers, their family life and Dax's relapse in 2020 after 16 years of sobriety, Kristen says they're now stronger than ever.
"One of the main reasons I love him is that he's also addicted to growth," she said. "He's addicted to evolving and 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,' and we're going back to therapy."
In a November 2022 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kristen explained how she believes the secret to their almost ten-year-strong marriage is their willingness to simply "stay vulnerable".
"You've gotta be vulnerable," the Frozen star continued. "We have to be vulnerable when we don't want to be. That's what works for us."
Do they have children?
Dax and Kristen share two children together, daughters Lincoln, who's nine, and seven-year-old Delta.
The pair are super private and choose to keep their daughters' faces out of the media. However, they do share a few rare glimpses into their happy family lives on social media, such as when they recently posted about their family holiday in Idaho with the help of some carefully placed emojis.
Kristen and Dax on holiday with their daughters
The couple adore raising their two children and have been branded an inspiration by their fans who love their honestly when it comes to their relationship.
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