Actress Misses ‘Today’ Show Appearance Amid Backlash to Her Personal Life

After a controversial wedding anniversary tribute to her husband posted to her Instagram, actress Kristen Bell skipped out on her Today Show appearance. The Nobody Wants This star was missing from a scheduled appearance last week, leaving her co-star Justine Lupe to appear on the NBC morning show solo.

There was no mention of Bell during the segment. However it was assumed Bell’s absence had something to do with her post honoring she and her husband Dax Shepard’s 12th wedding anniversary.

Days before, Bell shared a post that read: “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.’” The post initially drew congratulations from Bell’s fans. But many felt it was tone deaf and inappropriate, downplaying domestic violence during Domestic Violence Awareness month. The post showed Shepard holding Bell as she sat in his lap.

Bell and Shepard began dating in 2007. They announced their engagement three years later and, after waiting for same-sex marriage to be legalized in California as a show of solidarity, they wed in 2013, seven months after welcoming their first child together, Lincoln. The couple welcomed their second daughter, Delta, in 2014.

The couple have been open about the ups and downs of their marriage, including Shepard’s past addiction issues. Shepherd is an admitted alcoholic. He’s been sober for 21 years. She celebrated his sobriety in a tribute earlier this year.

Bell wrote, per ABC News: “This is what 21 years of sobriety looks like,” and that for Shepard it has meant “Lots of hugging. Hugging everyone and everything. Hugging life.” She concluded by writing, “I am eternally grateful to have you. We all are 💕.”