Dax Shepard says he was blindsided by Kristen Bell fan backlash

Dax Shepard says he was blindsided by Kristen Bell fan backlash
Source: Daily Mail Online

Dax Shepard has revealed that he was completely unaware of the massive uproar caused by his wife Kristen Bell's controversial Instagram post about their marriage.

Back in October, the actress sparked outrage when she shared a message celebrating their 12th anniversary.

In the caption, Bell joked about how her husband once promised, 'I would never kill you,' a remark that left many fans accusing her of being 'insensitive' and trivializing domestic violence.

As criticism mounted, Bell had no choice but to restrict comments on the post.

Six months on, Shepard is finally breaking his silence on what went on behind the scenes.

'I was alerted by someone that this whole thing was happening,' he admitted on Monday's episode of his podcast Armchair Expert, which featured comedian Nikki Glaser as a guest.

Dax Shepard has revealed that he was completely unaware of the massive uproar caused by his wife Kristen Bell's controversial Instagram post about their marriage.

'I was alerted by someone that this whole thing was happening,' he admitted on Monday's episode of his podcast Armchair Expert , which featured comedian Nikki Glaser as a guest; (Bell pictured in 2025)

'Kristen knew through her publicist, but didn't tell me. So, I actually didn't know, and this was brought to my attention after a week and a half... I had no clue.'

As Shepard recounted to Glaser, 'Someone comforted me, and I had to go to Kristen, like, "What are they talking about?" She's like, "Oh, that post I had."'

The post in question was an anniversary photo of Bell and Shepard, sharing an embrace, with the caption: 'Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who 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."'

The caption sparked a mixed bag of reactions.

Comedian Howie Mandel joked, 'He should write for Hallmark.'

But others weren't as amused. 'Crazy thing to joke about honestly. Sincerely, someone who thankfully survived,' one follower commented.

Another added, 'What a wild thing to post during Domestic Violence Awareness month.'

Glaser brought up the controversial anniversary post when she revealed to Shepard that she had considered including a joke about it in her monologue at the 2026 Golden Globes in January.

'Kristen knew through her publicist, but didn't tell me. So, I actually didn't know, and this was brought to my attention after a week and a half... I had no clue,' (pictured 2025)
'Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who 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,"' the Veronica Mars alum wrote beneath her post

'But I didn't do it because I'm friends with you,' she admitted. 'And I was like, "I don't want to make his life harder."'

'I definitely want to hear it,' Shepard encouraged.

Glaser pulled out her iPhone and read the joke: 'Die, My Love. If I Had Legs, I'd Kick You. Sorry, Baby.' She added, 'These are not just Dax Shepard captions for his anniversary post. These are movies nominated tonight.'

Shepard laughed, but Glaser explained why she ultimately scrapped the joke: 'I didn't do it because, also like, it was old news by then.'

Despite her decision to cut the joke, Shepard admitted that the couple’s overshare remained a hot topic at the Golden Globes.

By then, the media had moved on to a joint interview the couple did with Cher, Bell’s costar in Burlesque (2010), where the music legend didn’t hold back her thoughts on Shepard.

'You're lucky,' Cher quipped. 'She's definitely the better half... you must have something that I don't see.'

The following days saw the couple fielding questions about the interview on the Golden Globes red carpet. 'Every interview we did was about Cher,' Shepard told Glaser.

'The thing that drives me nuts is, like, we released it. We posted it,' he continued. 'I think it's hilarious. That's why I posted it.'