Wild Rumors About Dax Shepard & Kristen Bell That Have Been Debunked

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell may be one of Hollywood's power couple, but that doesn't mean they're safe from the rumor mill. Whether getting candid about their marriage, falling off the wagon, or even parenting, the couple has been quite vocal about their ups and downs.

For instance, Dax and Kristen consistently deny claims they are heading for divorce. The couple once clapped back at reports that they were having marital problems due to Shepard's addiction issues.

In a now-deleted Instagram post, Dax reacted to an interview request from Life & Style magazine regarding his marriage struggles linked to his addiction. The actor humorously responded with a fake outrage at the outlet's scoop. Kristen backed up her husband's wit with an equally humorous response, claiming she spilled the beans to the magazine. The couple's sense of humor seems to help them deal with other controversies that have been thrown at them.

When Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell aren't busy debunking divorce rumors, they're clearing the air about something else. Recently, Shepard once again addressed accusations that he and Bell are "Hollywood swingers."

The podcaster dismissed the claims, revealing that the story had actually become a running joke among his celebrity friends, including Jimmy Kimmel. "There was the most exciting tabloid story that we were Hollywood swingers and we hosted swing parties, this was in the tabloids," Shepard revealed on "The Drew Barrymore Show." "My favorite part of that happening was we got a lot of texts from other friends of ours saying, 'How could you not have invited me to the swinger party?'" When asked if there's anyone that the couple fantasizes about, Shepard wasn't so sure, noting that he and Bell "have not crossed that divide with anyone."

But if there's a marriage Shepard and Bell want to be in, that'd be Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's. "Oh my God, they are so dreamy as a couple," the actor added. "You just kind of want to be in their marriage. It's not so much that Kristen even wants to bring me along or I want to bring her along — you just want to be in their marriage."

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell also faced controversies about their parenting style. The couple has been very vocal about how they raise their two daughters, Lincoln and Delta. Shepard and Bell enforce some basic house guidelines, including how to treat family members with respect. However, some of their techniques raise some eyebrows in the parenting community.

The couple has always been open to dialogues with their girls about controversial topics, including sex talks. Shepard and Bell once shared their "ingenious" way of teaching their kids about sex by just keeping it real and straight to the point. Dax has also explained his relapse to his little ones. In a 2021 interview with "In Fact with Chelsea Clinton," Dax revealed he didn't hold back when he broke the news to his young daughters. "They know that dad goes to an AA meeting every Tuesday and Thursday," he said.

Dax and Kristen were also criticized in the past for the way they discipline their kids. In a 2017 interview with Babble, Kristen explained that she doesn't let public meltdowns affect her. "If my child is acting a fool in the grocery store, the embarrassment is on her," Bell said (via Today). "In truth, that shouldn't make me feel a certain way."

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell may seem financially well-off, but that doesn't mean they haven't struggled in the past. In 2023, the couple's baby products company, Hello Bello, filed for bankruptcy after suffering from high shipping and production costs.

In the bankruptcy petition, it was revealed that the company has combined assets and liabilities of at least $100 million per category. Hello Bello was founded in 2019 by Shepard and Bell. Their products include diapers, baby wipes, and sunscreen.

Prior to going to their company going bankrupt, Shepard once admitted that he feared dwindling funds during the Hollywood strike in 2023. "This new fear of I'm going to somehow be broke, or I'm going to lose everything, podcasting is somehow going to be over, and there's an actors', strike and I'm not going to act," he revealed. But even without acting gigs, Shepard is still raking in a hefty $9 million salary from his podcast, "Armchair Expert." The actor reportedly has a net worth of $40 million.

Racism is nothing new in Hollywood, and Kristen Bell has been the subject of it in the past. In 2023, the actress' holiday photo went viral for a couple of reasons. For one, it boasted Bell's impressive circle of friends. In an Instagram post, she shared a reel of snaps taken at her huge dinner party in Idaho. Among the celebrity guests are Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, Olivia Munn, Adam Scott, John Mulaney, Jimmy Fallon, Jake Tapper, and Shiri Appleby. Fans went wild with the number of famous people in the photo, comparing it to Ellen DeGeneres' famous Oscars selfie. The pair clearly have a lot of high profile buddies as Bell previously revealed to Forbes that she and Shepard have about 40 friends who go on a camping trip with them every year, including Jimmy Kimmel.

However, not everyone's impressed with Bell's star-studded event. Apparently, some find the photo racist, noting the lack of people of color at the party. Social media users expressed their dismay over Bell's "all-white" dinner party, pointing out the supposed glaring problem. But in a 2020 interview with Romper, Bell said, "I grew up in Detroit," she said. "I didn't consider myself an ounce of a racist," though she did admit "I have a lot to learn. And I have a lot of action steps to take, to fulfill what I think my beliefs are." The actress also removed herself from voicing a biracial character, Molly, on "Central Park," to give way to a more appropriate casting. The role was eventually handed over to Emmy Raver-Lampman, a biracial actress.