Dax Shepard Sets the Record Straight on Kristen Bell Anniversary Post Backlash
Six months after Kristen Bell’s anniversary tribute sparked backlash, Dax Shepard finally breaks his silence on Armchair Expert, saying he only learned about the uproar secondhand.
Well, this took a minute. Nearly six months after Kristen Bell lit up the internet with that eyebrow-raising wedding anniversary post about Dax Shepard, he finally addressed it — and, plot twist, he says he didn’t even know it was a thing for a while.
What Dax says happened
On the Monday, April 6 episode of his Armchair Expert podcast, Dax Shepard (51) told guest Nikki Glaser (41) that he was oblivious to the backlash for about a week and a half. According to him, someone pulled him aside to say there was a whole situation brewing online. He hadn’t seen it, and Kristen knew through her publicist but hadn’t filled him in yet. He ended up going to her and asking what people were talking about, and that’s when she pointed back to her post.
The post that kicked it off
Back in October 2025 — yes, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month, which very much mattered here — Kristen Bell (45) marked their 12th wedding anniversary with an Instagram caption quoting something Dax once said to her. The reaction was... split, to put it mildly.
"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,'"
Some fans read that as dark-humor cute. Others, not so much. A spokesperson for the National Network to End Domestic Violence told Page Six that jokes minimizing abuse are not funny and urged everyone — especially that month — to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserves.
As the blowback built, Bell limited comments on her socials and skipped a Today show appearance. She didn’t publicly respond to the criticism at the time.
The awards-show angle you probably didn’t hear
Nikki Glaser, who hosted the 2026 Golden Globes in January, revealed on Armchair Expert that she had a joke in her monologue referencing the post and even worked in faux movie titles — "Die My Love. If I Had Legs, I’d Kick You. Sorry, Baby." Dax and Kristen were both at the ceremony that night. Glaser ultimately cut the bit because the controversy felt stale by then, and she wasn’t sure where Dax stood on it — which, based on his story, is pretty funny because he apparently still didn’t know.
Dax told her he thought the joke was very funny, for what it’s worth.
Where they landed after the dust-up
Months later, as she prepped to host SAG’s 2026 Actor Awards in March, Bell was all about her husband again, telling People that there’s nothing he won’t do to take care of her and that he never gets insecure about her success.
How it unfolded, quick hits
- October 2025: Bell posts the 12th-anniversary caption quoting Dax; it includes a heart and sparks backlash during Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
- Late October 2025: National Network to End Domestic Violence condemns the framing; Bell limits Instagram comments and skips a Today show appearance.
- January 2026: Nikki Glaser hosts the Golden Globes; she considers a monologue joke about the post but cuts it. Dax and Kristen attend the show together.
- March 2026: Bell, gearing up to host SAG’s 2026 Actor Awards, praises Dax’s support in an interview.
- Monday, April 6, 2026: On Armchair Expert, Dax says he was unaware of the controversy for about a week and a half and only found out after someone flagged it; Kristen had known via her publicist.