Kristen Bell is opening up about the realities of marriage as her relationship with husband Dax Shepard continues to draw attention. The Good Place star recently spoke with People magazine about how her own marriage inspired parts of her hit Netflix romcom Nobody Wants This, co-starring Adam Brody. The show’s second season began streaming on October 23, just days after Bell faced backlash for a controversial anniversary post on Instagram.
“My advice to Joanne is just calm down a little bit,” Bell said of her on-screen character. “I feel like she can get very amped up very quickly, and in order to take yourself from a ‘me’ to a ‘we,’ it requires a lot of patience.”
Bell, 45, shared that her 12-year marriage to Shepard, 50, reflects similar dynamics. “Having someone I feel that is very opposite from me is certainly something that I feel,” she said. “It doesn’t mean we couldn’t make it work, or didn’t want to make it work.”
The actress explained that patience and understanding have been crucial for maintaining their relationship over the years. “We did have to have a lot of patience for each other to figure out what the compromises would be, and a general understanding that we’re probably going to have different viewpoints on almost everything,” she said.
Bell and Shepard, who share two daughters—Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 10—married in 2013 after several years together. Their marriage has often been in the public eye, celebrated for its honesty about therapy, conflict, and personal growth.
However, Bell’s recent anniversary tribute sparked controversy. Her Instagram post featured Shepard’s joking quote, “I would never kill you… even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you.” While some fans took the caption as a playful nod to their humor, others found it inappropriate. The National Network to End Domestic Violence publicly criticized the post, calling it insensitive.
Bell has not responded directly to the criticism but has limited comments on the post, which remains visible on her Instagram page. Despite the backlash, Bell continues to express gratitude for her marriage and the lessons learned along the way. Her latest comments reflect the challenges of balancing love, humor, and personal differences in a long-term relationship—especially under public scrutiny.
For Bell, navigating both real and fictional relationships has provided perspective. “It’s about figuring out how to move from individuality to partnership,” she said. “And sometimes, that just means taking a deep breath and remembering why you chose each other in the first place.”
