Kristen Bell vows to ‘continue to stand by’ husband Dax Shepard after his relapse

‘Everybody’s up against their own demons,’ Bell says

Kristen Bell has spoken about her husband Dax Shepard’s recent relapse, saying that he is “doing really great” and that she will “continue to stand by him”.

On Tuesday 13 October, Bell made an appearance on The Ellen Show via video chat.

During her conversation with Ellen DeGeneres, the talk show host asked the actor how her husband Shepard was doing, having recently “strayed from sobriety”.

In September this year, Shepard revealed on an episode of his podcast Armchair Expert that he had recently relapsed after staying sober for 16 years.

The actor said that he became addicted to painkillers after being prescribed the medication for an injury he sustained in a motorcycle accident.

While speaking about her husband with DeGeneres, Bell stated that “everybody’s up against their own demons”.

“Sometimes it’s anxiety and depression, sometimes it’s substance abuse,” the 40-year-old said.

“The thing I love most about Dax is A, that he was able to tell me and tell us and say, ‘We need a different plan.’”

Bell explained that she and Shepard have a “plan”, where if he needs to take any medication, Bell must be the one to administer it.

“But he was like, ‘So we need a stronger plan. I was faltering and I have to do some sort of emotional work to figure out why I wanted to use again’,” the Frozen star said.

Bell added that “one of the main reasons” why she loves her partner “is that he’s also addicted to growth”.

“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’,” she said.

“We’re going back to therapy. I love that he’s addicted to growth and I will continue to stand by him ‘cause he’s very, very worth it.”

Bell and Shepard have been together since 2007, announcing their engagement three years later.

The couple chose to hold off getting married until same-sex marriage became legalised in California, eventually marrying in October 2013.

They have two daughters together: Lincoln Bell Shepard, born in 2013, and Delta Bell Shepard, born a year later.

You can contact charity Frank’s drug abuse helpline by calling 0300 123 6600. The helpline is open 24/7.

You can also contact the charity by texting 82111 or by sending the organisation an email.