Michigan native Dax Shepard defended his wife Kristen Bell during a recent podcast episode while talking about controversial remarks she made on a 12th anniversary post last fall.
The controversy stems from an Oct. 17, 2025, Instagram post in which Bell celebrated her anniversary with Shepard. She captioned the post, “Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: ‘I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.'”
Though many wished her happy anniversary, the post also unleashed an onslaught of criticism, leading Bell to limit comments on her post. Many users found her remarks to be in bad taste, particularly since she made the comment during Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
Shepard addressed the controversy on the April 6, 2026, episode of his “Armchair Expert” podcast while speaking with guest Nikki Glaser and co-host Monica Padman.
Here’s what to know about Dax Shepard’s comments.
What did Dax Shepard say about the controversy?
Shepard addressed the controversy over Bell’s anniversary post on the April 6 episode of his “Armchair Expert,” podcast.
Speaking with guest Nikki Glaser on “Armchair Expert,” Shepard alluded to the situation when he dismissed “all these people that are convinced I’m beating Kristen,” arguing those who were “outraged” about the post were people who have “never been in a relationship.”
“We both grew up with domestic violence, so if you tell me how domestic violence works, I can tell you those guys who beat my mom’s a– never went online to find out if it was acceptable from someone,” he said. “That’s not actually how it works. … So you want to be really mad about a hypothetical scenario that’s never happened.”
Glaser quickly jumped in to defend Shepard during the interview, arguing Bell was simply sharing “inside jokes that you make in your house,” adding that anyone would similarly be “canceled” for the things they joke about privately with their spouse. “The backlash to whatever you went through, I think, was spurred very intensely by people just not understanding that kind of intimacy,” she told Shepard.
Later in the episode, Shepard looped back to the topic and told fans, “Don’t insult my wife. She doesn’t need your protection. You don’t need to diminish her. That’s what pisses me off.” But the actor admitted he had no idea about the backlash to Bell’s post until “a week and a half” after the fact.
“Kristen knew through her publicist, but didn’t tell me,” he said. “So I actually didn’t know, and this was brought to my attention. … I had no clue. Someone comforted me, and … I had to go to Kristen, ‘What are they talking about?’ And she’s like, ‘Oh, that post I had.'”
In fact, Shepard said his mother called him, only for him to realize she was actually talking about something entirely different: His comments that he offered to pay to freeze his daughter’s eggs when she turned 18.
“My mom called me and she goes, ‘I’m proud of what they’re saying.’ And I go, ‘That people think I abuse Kristen?'” he said. “And she goes, ‘Oh, what’s that? No, the thing about freezing your daughter’s eggs.’ I’m like, ‘Wait a minute. That’s a story?'”
While Glaser was on Shepard’s side, she shared a joke about the post that she wrote for her Golden Globes monologue, but didn’t use: “‘Die My Love.’ ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.’ ‘Sorry, Baby.’ … These are not just Dax Shepard captions for his anniversary post. These are movies nominated tonight.”
What did Bell’s post say?
Bell celebrated her 12th anniversary to fellow actor Dax Shepard in an Oct. 17, 2025, Instagram post captioned “Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: ‘I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.”
While some commenters on the post embraced Bell’s sentiment as a joke, and shared their well-wishes for the couple, others sharply criticized the actress for appearing to make light of domestic violence during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
In the aftermath, Bell limited comments on the post, USA TODAY reported.
Who is Kristen Bell?
Born Kristen Anne Bell in Huntington Woods, Michigan, the metro Detroit native is an award-winning actress and singer, IMDb says. She initially gained fame in the lead role in “Veronica Mars.”
Who is Dax Shepard?
Born Dax Randall Shepard and raised in Milford, Michigan, Bell’s husband and fellow metro Detroit native is an actor and podcaster, according to IMDb. Shepard was a regular in the series “Parenthood” and numerous other movies and series.
