Kristen Bell Says Marriage To Dax Shepard Is ‘Not Utter Bliss’

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard may be one of Hollywood’s most adored couples, especially with their latest adventure in recreating the “Africa” video originally from the 1980s rock band Toto, but Bell reveals that their relationship has its share of troubles as well. Both Shepard and Bell reveal that their union is filled with much of the same obstacles and joys as any marriage, and while the couple may battle it out from time to time, Bell and Shepard both affirm that, when it comes down to it, they face their troubles as a team.

House Of Lies Star Kristen Bell Reveals That Her Marriage To Dax Shepard Isn’t Always A Modern Utopia

Few couples can remain as happy and devoted to one another as Bell and Shepard. Even after three years of marriage, the couple seems to be on a perpetual honeymoon, surprising one another in ways usually reserved for romantic comedies and behaving like high school sweethearts at every opportunity, but Kristen says there’s more going on behind closed doors. In the public’s eyes, Shepard knows just how to melt Kristen’s heart, such as the time he surprised Bell with the real version of her spirit animal (a sloth) for her birthday.

Proving that she is just as spontaneous as Shepard, Ms. Bell joined Dax in recreating the “Africa” video from Toto, which went viral nearly as soon as the couple shared it via social media.

While it may seem like Bell and Shepard are living life like two unsupervised children with no cares at all, Bell reminds fans that things are not always as they appear.

“It’s not utter bliss,” 35-year-old Kristen Bell said. “We should remind the world that we do fight. We love each other to the moon and back, but we do have a lot of road bumps.”

So how do Dax and Kristen make their marriage seem so utterly perfect? Ms. Bell says the key to making their union work is compromise. In fact, she indicates that compromise comes into play more often than not.

“Marriage and a relationship is hard work, and it’s a lot of compromise. But if you compromise a lot, it’s worth it, and you’ll be able to make African vacation music videos.”

Bell also reveals that she and Dax actually go to couples’ counseling, because they disagree most of the time. Even though she grows sick of Dax some days, and other days, the opposite is true, Kristen says their vows to keep loving one another keep them bonded. Beyond any obstacles, Bell says that she and Shepard are a team.

Kristen Bell Supports Dax Shepard, As He Goes Public About Having Been Molested As A Child

The interview took place on The Jason Ellis Show on Sirius XM, when Dax Shepard admitted to having been molested as a child. The confession was made less painful, only because wife Kristen Bell joined him for the interview, giving him both support and strength in coming forward about the experience. Dax revealed that he was sexually assaulted by an 18-year-old neighbor, when he was a 7-year-old boy, but adds that it took him 12 years before he was able to speak about it to anyone.

For those 12 intervening years, Mr. Shepard says he was wracked with guilt, feeling as though the molestation was his fault. He also struggled with feelings that he was secretly gay and that it was his own unconscious yearnings that prompted the neighbor to molest him. Ellis, who has also been a victim of abuse, understood the feelings of guilt, as described by Shepard.

Like many sexual abuse survivors, Dax says he struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction for several years, until he fully embraced sobriety in 2004. By the time Shepard and Kristen Bell connected, the Parenthood actor had been sober and clean for three years. Even now, Shepard’s mother, who serves as an advocate for children placed in foster care, looks out for Dax and keeps his past in mind, whenever something of interest is brought to her attention.

“She called me not too long ago and she said, ‘You know, I was just at a seminar this weekend and I learned that if you’ve been molested, you only have a 20 percent chance of not being an addict,'” Shepard recounted. “And I was like, ‘Hm, interesting,’ because in my mind I just like to… have a great time. But when you hear a statistic like that, I’m like, ‘Oh no, I was going to be an addict, period.'”

[Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]