Kristen Bell Talks Dax Shepard's Relapse After 16 Years Of Sobriety

During a recent episode of Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast, the 45-year-old actor revealed he had relapsed. Shepard told his listeners he had started abusing painkillers following a motorcycle accident. At the time the episode was recorded, Shepard was 7 days sober.

While chatting with Ellen Degeneres on Wednesday (October 14), Shepard's wife, Kristen Bell, discussed his relapse. "He is actually doing really great," Bell said of her husband. "Everybody is up against their own demons. Sometimes it's anxiety and depression. Sometimes it's substance abuse."

Bell applauded Shepard for his honesty, as well as his decision to seek help when he needed it. "The thing I love most about Dax is that he was able to tell me and tell us and say, 'We need a different plan.' We have a plan: if he has to take medication for any reason, I have to administer it," she shared. "But he was like, 'We need a stronger plan. I was faltering. I have to do some sort of emotional work to figure out why I wanted to use again.'"

The Good Place actress said her husband is "addicted to growth," as well. "He's addicted to evolving," she continued. "He was like, 'I don't want to risk this family and I did, so let's put new things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.'"

The most important thing for Bell and Shepard is to keep their family in tact. Bell revealed that she and Shepard are "going back to therapy" and that she will continue to stand by his side. "I will continue to stand by him because he's very, very worth it," she shared.

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