Dax Shepard has revealed he was completely unaware of the backlash surrounding his wife Kristen Bell's controversial anniversary post until weeks after it went viral. The actor shared the surprising detail on his podcast, Armchair Expert, explaining that he learned about the controversy from someone else.
"I was alerted by someone that this whole thing was happening," Shepard said. "I didn't know, and Kristen knew through her publicist but didn't tell me. So, I actually didn't know, and this was brought to my attention."
The controversy stemmed from an Instagram post Bell shared in October 2025 to celebrate their 12th wedding anniversary. The photo showed the couple embracing, but the caption included a reference to murder that some found insensitive.
"Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who, after an episode of Dateline, 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.'"
While many followers found the caption humorous, others criticized it for making light of domestic violence. "Joking about the violence others have actually had to face isn't it," one commenter wrote. "This ain't right, joke or not."
Shepard admitted he first heard about the public reaction approximately ten days after the post was published. "I had no clue," he continued. "Someone comforted me, and I was like, 'What are you [talking about]?' And then I had to go to Kristen, like, 'What are they talking about?' She's like, 'Oh, that post I had.'"
Bell never directly addressed the controversy, but in a February interview with People magazine, she praised her husband's unwavering support. "There's nothing that he won't do to take care of me," she said. "One thing that I love so much about being married to him is that he is never allergic to me shining more and more. He never gets insecure about it."
The couple, who met in 2007 and married in 2013, have often spoken publicly about their relationship dynamics, including their contrasting personalities that Bell once described as "the Paula Abdul video 'Opposites Attract' personified."