Kristen Bell couldn’t be happier to reunite with her parents for the first time in more than a year as she celebrated father Tom’s birthday Saturday with a special dinner. The Good Place star, 40, was all smiles in a series of photos with her mom and dad, who kept his mask on for the reunion pictures. “Saw my parents for the first time in over a year,” she captioned the photos on Instagram.
“It was my dad’s birthday, so we took him out to a nice dinner and he told me that since it was his birthday he absolutely did not have to take his mask off for the pictures I wanted,” Bell continued. “I get my stubbornness from him. Happy birthday, dad. I’m so glad you’re mine.” Fans were excited to see the star get to reunite with her family after a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially those who have also been missing their families. “I’m so happy for everyone getting to see their parents,” one person commented. “It hits different since my mom didn’t make it.” Another person added, “Still waiting to be able to see my parents in the UK, it’s been way over a year for me too. So happy for you guys! Hope it was an epic day!”
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Bell and her husband, Dax Shepard, have been major advocates for staying home and staying safe amid the pandemic, quarantining with daughters Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 6. “Balancing work and parenting and online learning during the pandemic, and especially supporting mental health, it was really hard,” the Frozen star said on Yahoo’s Reset Your Mindset: Pandemic Parenting livestream special in March.
When it comes to how they were handling telling their kids about what was going on, Bell explained, “We’re always honest with our kids, and sometimes it’s been really hard. We explained what COVID was and why it exists and we told them everything really early on and we just reminded them that we’re luckier than most people and we have to do what we can to help others during this time.”
Bell and Shepard’s kids have been providing some serious entertainment during lockdown, with the Veronica Mars actress revealing in September on the Say Yes! with Carla Hall podcast that she walked in on them drinking one of their dad’s non-alcoholic beers during virtual school. “They have 15-minute breaks where they’re allowed to jump around and grab a snack and wiggle it out. And I walk in to check on them at 9:30 and both of them are drinking an O’Doul’s on their Zooms,” she shared on the podcast. “They’re both just sipping their Doulies. And I’m like, ‘What must these other parents and teachers think of me?’ “
