Kristen Bell responds to commenter who criticized stories about her marriage
Finding your “perfect match” is a myth and it’s important to be honest about how hard marriage can be sometimes, according to Kristen Bell, who is known for being open about the challenges in her relationship.
Her comments came in response to someone who reacted on Instagram to a recent interview involving Bell’s husband, Dax Shepard. In an interview with PopCulture, Shepard, 46, spoke about a mural he had painted onto a van for his series “Top Gear America.” The mural depicts him as a buff, ‘70s-style heartthrob with Bell at his feet, wearing very little and appearing subservient. Bell was not pleased, according to Shepard.
“She wasn’t thrilled with the level of ‘female empowerment’ that was depicted in that mural. Understandably. And my kind of excuse was we had to honor the era in which this was popular. It didn't fly,” Shepard said.
Shepard's quote about “female empowerment” was posted on PopCulture's Instagram account Tuesday over an image of Bell and Shepard smiling at the camera. One comment on the post, which garnered dozens of likes, read, “Every piece of news I see about them talks about how they just can’t f------ stand each other, constantly fight, now this dude is apparently objectifying her as well,” adding, “Just what’s the point?”
Bell, 40, responded, writing, “We adore each other, we just try to always be honest about how marriage, or companionship in any form, is hard sometimes. You can’t always be in control, or right, and it’s important to us that we lead with the honesty of your 'perfect match' being a myth. You gotta work hard to love yourself, and love other humans.”
The image PopCulture shared was actually taken from a birthday tribute Bell posted last month in celebration of her husband, calling him her “very favorite human on earth,” and someone whose “commitment to growth is astounding, whose honesty is admirable, and who makes me laugh more than anyone.”
Bell and Shepard have been married for over seven years and share two children. Shepard recently addressed their openness in discussing their issues on Sunday TODAY, telling Willie Geist, “We don't want anyone to think we met and it's been easy 'cause if that's someone's expectation of a relationship and certainly a marriage, it's a bad expectation to have.”