What Changed Dax Shepard’s Mind About Marrying Kristen Bell
WHO:
Page Six - Dax Shepard, 51, and Kristen Bell, 46, discussed their engagement on Shepard’s “Armchair Expert” podcast.
US Magazine - Bell, 46, recalled Shepard, 51, saying he did not believe in marriage on his “Armchair Expert” podcast.
Page Six - The couple has two daughters: Lincoln and Delta.
WHAT:
Page Six - Shepard initially refused to marry Bell because he did not believe in marriage.
Page Six - Bell recalled that she liked the tradition of marriage but accepted Shepard’s reasoning, saying, “I was like, ‘OK well, he treats me like his wife, so who cares?’”
Page Six - Shepard said a marriage certificate would not determine how he treated Bell: “A piece of paper filed at a courthouse somewhere in California is not going to dictate how I treat you.”
Page Six - Shepard described his opposition as an “anarchist point of view” and said he did not want to ask California’s state government for permission to be together or to separate.
Page Six - After spending Christmas Eve with his family, Shepard decided to propose. He had bought a ring and initially planned to propose at Bell’s favorite restaurant, Stanley’s, over a salad, but proposed that night instead.
Page Six - Shepard retrieved the ring from a jacket pocket in their bedroom closet and proposed in bed. Bell cried before he returned and sobbed after he asked, “Will you marry me?”
Page Six - The couple began dating in 2007 and announced their engagement in 2010.
Page Six - Bell and Shepard married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office and have no prenuptial agreement.
Page Six - Bell said she cries “weekly” while dealing with the pressures of marriage and parenting, adding, “It’s hard.”
WHERE:
Page Six - Shepard proposed in the couple’s bedroom; the ring was in a jacket pocket in their bedroom closet.
Page Six - The couple married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office.
WHEN:
Page Six - Lincoln was born in March 2013, seven months before the couple married.
Page Six - Delta was born in December 2014.
Page Six - Bell and Shepard began dating in 2007 and announced their engagement in 2010.
WHY:
Page Six - Shepard said he had a negative perception of marriage because he and Bell both came from broken homes.
Page Six - Shepard changed his mind after a “beautiful Christmas Eve” with his family and Bell expressed gratitude for the family they were building.
HOW:
Page Six - Shepard went to the closet to retrieve the ring and proposed spontaneously in bed rather than waiting to propose at the restaurant.
Page Six - Page Six reported that the couple has attended couples therapy since the beginning of their relationship.
(UPDATED October 26, 2026 22:13 UTC)
Dax Shepard said he initially resisted marrying Kristen Bell because, as children of broken homes, he had a negative view of marriage and didn’t want a government document to dictate their relationship. After a meaningful Christmas Eve with his family, he changed his mind, grabbed a ring from a jacket in their bedroom closet, and proposed to Bell in bed instead of waiting to ask at her favorite restaurant. The couple, who began dating in 2007 and announced their engagement in 2010, married at the Beverly Hills County Clerk’s Office and have two daughters, Lincoln and Delta; Bell says the pressures of marriage and parenting can leave her crying weekly.