Dax Shepard Opens up About His 9-Year Open Relationship Before Kristen Bell

Dax Shepard is opening up about how his nine-year open relationship affected his early life with now-wife Kristen Bell. The podcast host and actor opened up about the jealousy Bell struggled with when they first began dating on Wednesday’s episode of The Drew Barrymore Show, as The Good Place actress admitted it was a “nerve-racking” experience in the beginning.

“My wife is incredibly confident as she should be,” Shepard said. “There was a ton of jealousy at the beginning of the relationship, for pretty good reasons. I had been in an open relationship for nine years. I was blacked out a big chunk of my life. There were a lot of things for her to be concerned about.”

Everything changed, however, when the couple got engaged in 2009, and “some kind of switch” seemed to change for the Ranch star. “I find her to be incredibly not jealous, which is a very hot characteristic in a partner,” he gushed of Bell, whom he married in 2013.

For Bell, the proof that she put her faith in the right person is in how he treats their daughters — Delta, 6, and Lincoln, 8. “I’m a big believer in forgiveness and second chances,” she said. “In the beginning, it was nerve-racking dating Dax knowing his history of recovery and that he’s just this big force, but I was like, ‘No, he’s got it inside of him. He’s got all this goodness.’” 

“I have been proven right, because nobody is more affectionate. I’m not even as affectionate with our girls as he is,” the Frozen star continued. “Hopefully they will grow up healthier and happier and safer.” One of Shepard’s parenting ideas that Bell respects most is to not hide their disagreements and resolutions from their girls.

“We don’t play games. There’s too much data that tells us that the kids know what’s happening, no matter how you are playing it. They can sense the tension,” Bell explained. “… It’s not always possible to alleviate it in the moment, because we are too pissed at each other. But he said, ‘Let’s always make sure we do it in front of them the day after.’” Modeling this kind of conflict resolution for their kids is important for the couple “because what no one has really talked about much is that you have a fight and then you close a door and resolve it.”