{"id":1309,"date":"2026-11-10T01:09:54","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T01:09:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/11\/10\/dax-shepard-responds-to-accusations-that-hes-controlling-and-abusive-to-wife-kristen-bell\/"},"modified":"2026-11-10T01:09:54","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T01:09:54","slug":"dax-shepard-responds-to-accusations-that-hes-controlling-and-abusive-to-wife-kristen-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/2026\/11\/10\/dax-shepard-responds-to-accusations-that-hes-controlling-and-abusive-to-wife-kristen-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"Dax Shepard Responds to Accusations That He\u2019s \u2018Controlling\u2019 and \u2018Abusive\u2019 to Wife Kristen Bell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIt\u2019s so frustrating,\u201d he said during the Nov. 9 episode of his \u2018Armchair Expert\u2019 podcast<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/WVPnabl5FOKhzZ9SPa-IkNyGoJo=\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():format(jpeg)\/Dax-Shepard-Kristen-Bell-110926-2-1095ec9ae148432798c3073ae1e59239.jpg\" alt=\"Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell at The Maybourne in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2026Credit: Jon Kopaloff\/Getty\" title=\"Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell attend the Go Campaign Gala honoring Wrexham Foundation at The Maybourne Beverly Hills on October 17, 2025 in Beverly Hills, California.\" \/><figcaption><i>Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell at The Maybourne in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2026<br \/>Credit: Jon Kopaloff\/Getty<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Dax Shepard responds to accusations that he\u2019s \u201cabusive\u201d to his wife, Kristen Bell<\/li>\n<li>\u201cIt\u2019s so frustrating,\u201d he said during the Nov. 9 episode of his <em>Armchair Expert<\/em> podcast<\/li>\n<li>Shepard also said that the \u201cweird narrative\u201d around him is also \u201cdeeply insulting\u201d to Bell<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/dax-shepard\/\" data-type=\"\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dax Shepard<\/a> is speaking out about the public scrutiny of his marriage to <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/tag\/kristen-bell\/\" data-type=\"\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-ordinal=\"2\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kristen Bell<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>On the Monday, Nov. 9 episode of his <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/53zVhCZrGo2rPNpm8VG9Rc\" data-type=\"\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em>Armchair Expert<\/em><\/a> podcast, Shepard, 51, addressed accusations that he is \u201ccontrolling\u201d and \u201cabusive\u201d toward Bell, his wife of 13 years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnother round of me being a terrible person was in the media, and I avoided that,\u201d he said. \u201cBut then it hit Kristen\u2019s doorstep really hard, and then I got to find out everything that people are saying about me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shepard expressed irritation over claims that he is \u201cabusive\u201d toward Bell, saying, \u201c[The] weird narrative that is surrounding me as like controlling, abusive, now flirting with people in public, which I don\u2019t do\u2026 It\u2019s so frustrating.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/22FNv-CtVmVeqvI8emgCjcvP_Ps=\/fit-in\/1280x960\/dax-shepard-110926-fe8e5324af4548b9ab59576a2f076b54.jpg\" alt=\"Dax Shepard on \u2018Armchair Expert\u2019 on Nov. 9, 2026Credit: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard\/Youtube\" title=\"Dax Shepard on Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard\" \/><figcaption><i>Dax Shepard on \u2018Armchair Expert\u2019 on Nov. 9, 2026<br \/>Credit: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard\/Youtube<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The <em>Parenthood<\/em> actor said the claims are particularly upsetting because he has dedicated his \u201cwhole life to being the opposite\u201d of the abusive men he grew up around. \u201cI don\u2019t ever yell at my children. I don\u2019t yell at my wife,\u201d he said. \u201cTo have given it my all to be the opposite of what now some group of people is saying I am, it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Shepard added that he finds the characterization \u201cdeeply insulting\u201d to Bell. \u201cShe\u2019s what, she\u2019s sitting in a house with her two daughters and modeling some abusive relationship? Like, it\u2019s very offensive to her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/people-news-daily-newsletter-sign-up-8692701\">PEOPLE\u2019s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n<p>Shepard\u2019s remarks come two weeks after Bell sparked discussion about the couple\u2019s unconventional way of flirting. While on <em>Armchair Expert<\/em>, Bell shared that Shepard flirts with her when he gives other people compliments.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a couple things Dax does where he doesn\u2019t have to look up and wink at me, but I know that he\u2019s just being the best boy,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019ll be at dinner and, like, he\u2019ll say to the waiter or waitress, he\u2019ll go, \u2018Wow, you have incredible eyelashes, gorgeous eyes. Great, great job.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut that\u2019s flirting with me because he just made someone else feel good,\u201d Bell added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>On Monday\u2019s episode, Shepard also sought to clarify what Bell meant by her comments.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think she phrased it in a way that got easily confused for people,\u201d he explained. \u201cBecause we\u2019re saying, I flirt with Kristen by tipping people a lot. And I flirt with Kristen by complimenting people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you think I\u2019m complimenting like hot young waitresses, yeah, you got a problem,\u201d Shepard continued. \u201cI\u2019m finding the dude that I don\u2019t think\u2019s had a compliment in a while and tell him I love his shows. It\u2019s always somebody that I want to make their day.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/K9j2wYgu-EeG1gdSJdl8_iHmnfc=\/fit-in\/1280x960\/Dax-Shepard-Kristen-Bell-110926-1-f6bedd6e2b4e45e1b5d1dfe0fcce820f.jpg\" alt=\"Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell at The Golden Globes in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2026Credit: Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times via Getty\" title=\"Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell on the red carpet at the 2026 Golden Globes (83rd Annual Ceremony) held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, CA on Sunday, January 11, 2026\" \/><figcaption><i>Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell at The Golden Globes in Los Angeles on Jan. 11, 2026<br \/>Credit: Jason Armond\/Los Angeles Times via Getty<\/i><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Shepard noted that he can normally \u201cbrush off\u201d what the public is saying about him, \u201cbut when we\u2019re now on year two of [this], [where] there\u2019s a new [thing], then it just starts making me think like, \u2018Oh, is this now my f&#8212;ing role?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He shared that the narrative that he\u2019s a \u201cterrible man\u201d makes him want to \u201cgo away.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Shepard and Bell also faced criticism in October 2025 after the <em>Nobody Wants This<\/em> star shared a dark joke about their marriage while celebrating <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DP7aIvKktDQ\/\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"externalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">their wedding anniversary<\/a>. On Instagram, Bell shared a photo of her and Shepard hugging with the caption, \u201cHappy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who, after an episode of Dateline, once said to me: \u2018I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I\u2019m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bell subsequently limited comments on the post amid the backlash. Shepard later said <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/dax-shepard-no-clue-backlash-kristen-bell-anniversary-post-11943932\" data-component=\"link\" data-source=\"inlineLink\" data-type=\"internalLink\" data-ordinal=\"1\">he had \u201cno clue\u201d about the controversy<\/a> until approximately a week and a half later.<\/p>\n<p>Shepard and Bell tied the knot in October 2013 during an intimate courthouse ceremony in Beverly Hills. The couple shares two daughters, Lincoln, 13, and Delta, 11.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cIt\u2019s so frustrating,\u201d he said during the Nov. 9 episode of his \u2018Armchair Expert\u2019 podcast Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell at The Maybourne in Los Angeles on Oct. 17, 2026Credit: Jon Kopaloff\/Getty NEED TO KNOW Dax Shepard responds to accusations that he\u2019s \u201cabusive\u201d to his wife, Kristen Bell \u201cIt\u2019s so frustrating,\u201d he said during the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-everything-else"],"wpmagazine_modules_lite_featured_media_urls":{"thumbnail":"","cvmm-medium":"","cvmm-medium-plus":"","cvmm-portrait":"","cvmm-medium-square":"","cvmm-large":"","cvmm-small":"","full":""},"categories_names":{"1":{"name":"Everything Else","link":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/category\/everything-else\/"}},"tags_names":[],"comments_number":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1309\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/adsandthings.com\/winews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}