Former The Ranch star Dax Shepard celebrated his 46th birthday on Saturday, prompting a loving message from his wife, actress Kristen Bell. She praised him for his “commitment to growth” following a difficult year. In 2020, Shepard was involved in a serious motorcycle accident and suffered a relapse during his sobriety journey.
“It’s my favorite day of the year! When I get to celebrate the birth of my very favorite human on earth and spoil him till he rots,” Bell wrote on Instagram, alongside a fun photo of the couple. “The one who’s (sic) commitment to growth is astounding, who’s honesty is admirable, and who makes me laugh more than anyone. I love u so dearly.” Shepard and Bell married in 2013 and are parents to daughter Delta, 6, and son Lincoln, 7.
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Several of Bell’s celebrity followers and friends wished Shepard a happy birthday as well. “Happy birthday, daxaroonie!” Chelsea Handler wrote. “I like him too. happy birthday [Shepard],” Jimmy Kimmel wrote. Several fans joined in the celebration, with some noting they shared the same birthday with Shepard. “Happy Birthday Dax. Thanks for setting the relationship goal bar so high,” one fan wrote.
During an August episode of Armchair Expert, Shepard revealed he suffered a motorcycle accident and needed surgery for four broken ribs and other injuries. In another episode in September, Shepard noted that the surgeries required him to take pain medication and he relapsed. Earlier in 2020, he noticed his behavior was getting “shadier and shadier” and he eventually started buying pain pills. “For the last eight weeks maybe, I don’t really know … I’m on them all day,” he explained to co-host Monica Padman, reports Entertainment Tonight. “And I’m allowed to be on them at some dosage because I have a prescription. And then I’m also augmenting that. And then all the prescriptions run out, and I’m now just taking 30 mil Oxys that I’ve bought at whenever I decide I can do.”
Shepard said he thought he was managing his career and family responsibilities, even though Padman could recognize some behavioral changes. Shepard admitted to lying to Padman. The lying was a sign to Shepard that he had to quit. He eventually came clean to Padman and Bell but was apprehensive about going public because it had been reported that he was 16 years sober. At the time Shepard recorded the podcast, he was sober for seven days.
Bell opened up about Shepard’s admission while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October. The Good Place star said her husband has been doing “really great” and she now has to administer his medication whenever he must take it. “I mean look, everybody’s up against their own demons. Sometimes it’s anxiety and depression, sometimes it’s substance abuse,” Bell 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.”
