Kristen Bell Lives An Incredibly Normal Life

Kristen Bell is as real as it gets. The actress, businesswoman, wife, and mom of two may have an enviable career, but she has made it her mission to stay grounded and humble. And while she may grace red carpets in gorgeous gowns and garner acclaim for her varied performances, she is not shy about going makeup-free in public or sharing her latest parenting hiccup. There is something so disarmingly likable about Bell's ability to be authentic, flawed, and, well, human. 

Indeed, America's Sweetheart is perfectly imperfect, and she proves it often by letting her fans go behind the scenes of a day in her wacky world via social media. And while that sometimes means we get to see her melt down over the cuteness of a sloth, it usually means we get to empathize with her inability to effectively grocery shop with kids in tow. Yes, Kristen Bell leads an incredibly normal life.

While A-list parties and premieres are regular parts of Kristen Bell's life, they are not her favorite evening events. If given the choice, the Frozen star would rather spend a night cozied up at home in "comfy clothes" relaxing and trying out a new recipe, after making a stop at the supermarket to pick up missing ingredients, of course, according to Parade. She also likes to spend time with loved ones, eating, "sometimes playing a game, and then binge-watching a show." Given her penchant for staying at home, you might think that Kristen Bell is one of those celebrities who are total squares, but we see her more as being one of Hollywood's most down-to-earth celebrities.

The famous girl next door also told the magazine that she loves sleeping. In fact, when she is away for work and staying solo at a hotel, she always prioritizes rest and relaxation: "I literally go straight to bed. I'm like, 'I'm going to get 10 hours of sleep tonight and I'm so happy about it.' That's my most honest truth." Who wouldn't want a good night's sleep?

Kristen Bell and her husband, Dax Shepard, do not take things too seriously. They like to have fun and be silly together, so it's no surprise that, when the holiday season rolls around, this Tinseltown twosome loves to wear festive matching jammies. During the 2019 Christmas season, Bell shared a photo of herself and her actor beau rocking fuzzy bubblegum pink onesies on Instagram. Just a few months prior, she posted a picture of them twinning in Hanna Andersson bat-print pajamas for Halloween. 

And that's not all, they sometimes even do facial sheet masks together. Yes, the actress has not missed an opportunity to share photos of her and her husband's matching masked faces on social media — and, apparently, in the Bell-Shepard household, they have a "mask night" during the week. A couple that prioritizes self-care and enjoys a matchy-matchy moment? What's not to love about this refreshingly normal Hollywood pair?

As a busy mom and actress, Kristen Bell likes to be prepared with snacks. ”I almost always have an apple in my purse. It's good for you, and the baby can gnaw on it!" she told WebMD in an interview. "I also really love This Bar Saves Lives in all three flavors." Yes, if you were to look at what Kristen Bell eats every day, you'd likely find products from This Bar Saves Lives.

According to WebMD, the long-time vegetarian tries to maintain a healthy diet low in sugar, and she always pays the price when she occasionally indulges in something sweet. "I'm jittery, my skin itches, and I cannot get a good night's sleep," she said of her experiences after eating sugary snacks. Still, she's not above a salty snack now and then. On an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she and husband Dax Shepard played a blindfolded taste-testing game. She was trying to get him to guess Cheetos and described them as "a crunchy after-dinner snack." Far be it from us to judge the time of day this power couple enjoys their favorite junk food!

Being a mom is one of the hardest jobs in the world, and Kristen Bell does not try to pretend otherwise. She is frank, upfront, and vocal about the struggles — big and small — of rearing children. She balks at the idea of downtime for moms, telling Parade, "I think I'm starting to believe self-care is a bit of a myth. I don't need a manicure." She also noted that a support system is critical for parents who are stretched too thin, adding, "Moms have too much on their plate."

Still, despite the tedious days and exhausting nights, Bell has her priorities straight when it comes to motherhood. "The thing parenthood did for me was it right-sized all my problems. Like I was on this hustling hamster wheel of staying relevant," she said in an interview on The Motherly Podcast, explaining that having kids put things into perspective for her.

Mental health is a hot-button topic for many, but Kristen Bell has bravely opened up about her own personal struggles with anxiety and depression. The effervescent actress told Today that she is aware of how her perky personality could be misleading to many, and that is why she thought it was so important to share her story. "I had a pit in my stomach for almost feeling ashamed that I had hidden it for so long, because it could've helped people before if I had talked about it," she noted. 

Bell is fortunate to have had supportive loved ones who helped her on her journey to self-awareness. In addition to crediting her husband for encouraging her to take her story public, she told Access that her mom, a nurse, is the person who helped her identify her mental health issues to begin with when she was around 18 years old. Since then, Bell has been on a path to embrace "the messiness of being human." She has to keep a strong workout routine and takes medication, but she is not ashamed of the steps she needs to take to stay healthy, happy, and strong.

Ask any mom if she gets sufficient sleep at night, and she is more than likely to laugh in your face — or cry. Kristen Bell is no different. The Veronica Mars and House of Lies star told Us Weekly that sleep deprivation is possibly the most difficult thing about being a mother. "I think that fuels everything. It fuels my lack of patience with my kids sometimes," she said. "If I had had a full night's rest, I would be able to be more patient with them sometimes." She joked to the magazine in a separate interview that her kids' "blood-curdling screams" had become her new morning alarm. 

Still, despite the end-of-day exhaustion, she tries to relish bedtime with her two girls, Lincoln and Delta. In an interview with Self, she shared, "Those are very magical times, and bearing witness to it as opposed to trying to rush it is what I'm erring on the side of, and I've been a lot happier since I've started doing that."

Famous couples fight, too ⁠— and Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have regular marital spats and petty quarrels just like the rest of us. Bell remembered one argument on Justin Long's podcast Life Is Short (via People). She recounted, "We both blacked out and got into a fight, and I don't actually remember what happened, but what transpired was a lot of volume, a lot of harsh words being thrown around, and it was an angry, angry fight ... about how nobody does anything for anybody else." Fortunately, they learned and grew from the experience. And they've continued to be open about their highs and lows, knowing their relationship will always be in the spotlight.

While the lovebirds generally seem to enjoy each other's company, a little separation and downtime can also make the heart grow fonder. When stuck at home in 2020, Bell told Good Morning America that she and Shepard were "at each other's throats real bad, real bad."

Kristen Bell may not drink wine on the regular, but she certainly enjoys all the memes out there about moms needing their glass of red at night. "The wine meme is a very funny thing. I suppose I take it as generalized 'kids are stressful.' I personally don't have wine every day, but my wine is Netflix and cuddling with my husband or our date night," Bell told HuffPost. 

While the actress will occasionally indulge in a glass of rosé while on vacation, as noted by Eating Well, she is not a regular drinker. Bell has made an effort to mostly steer clear of alcohol, in part to support husband Dax Shepard's sobriety. In fact, in a heartfelt Instagram post, she paid tribute to his hard work and 14th year in recovery. "I will forever be in awe of your dedication, and the level of fierce moral inventory you perform on yourself, like an emotional surgery, every single night," she wrote in the caption, adding, "You set an excellent example of being human."

Kristen Bell might project perfection, but she is not all sunshine and rainbows. She knows how to effectively and emphatically curse, and she is not above good old-fashioned toilet humor. She told Women's Health, "I have a potty mouth. I'm not afraid to drop an F-bomb. I can love organic tomatoes and swearing ⁠— the two aren't mutually exclusive." 

Still, the Bad Mom good girl doesn't necessarily want her children emulating her naughty behavior. Bell chronicled the time her husband, Dax Shepard, explained curse words and middle fingers to one of their daughters in an Instagram story, as reported by Good Morning America. She seemed positively giddy over the innocent hilarity of the moment, captioning her thoughts, "I have been waiting for this conversation since the day I got pregnant." As her The Good Place character Eleanor Shellstrop would say, the whole situation was "forking" hysterical.

We are used to seeing celebrities host incredibly extravagant weddings — but not Kristen Bell. Her wedding to Dax Shepard was downright cheap and super low-key. While the couple got engaged in 2009, they waited to make it official until same-sex marriage was legalized, as noted by Insider. And when they finally did tie the knot, they opted to skip the lavish ceremony and fancy reception. "We got married in a tiny room in the Beverly Hills courthouse, and it was still one of the best days of my life," Bell said during an interview with CBS Sunday Morning. The whole event reportedly cost only $142.

What's more, Bell said that she and Shepard struggle to remember their official anniversary each year. In an Instagram post, she admitted that the real date means nothing to them "because we have been living the celebration of our commitment every moment since" the day they said their vows.

When Dax Shepard planted his La-Z-Boy reclining armchair in the middle of their living room smack in front of the sofa, Kristen Bell decided to wage strategic psychological warfare to get the chair out of their space. She recounted the incident during an episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, explaining how she wanted to get the eyesore out of her house, but also needed her husband to think it was his own idea. 

After her television appearance, Bell told Apartment Therapy that La-Z-Boy contacted her about teaming up for a potential partnership. She was initially skeptical, but soon relented. "I can admit though, because I am a truth teller, that when I sat in the recliner, it was incredibly comfortable. ... When they showed me what else they make, I was like "Really? That's very cute' (which by the way, is everyone's reaction)." And just like that, Kristen Bell became a proud La-Z girl.

Guess what, mamas? Kristen Bell has a messy house, too! In 2017, she posted a photo on Instagram showing various toy baskets dumped out in the middle of her living room. The caption read, "This is a picture of both the floor of my house and the interior of my brain. #momlife." In 2019, she shared a photo that featured her bedroom, and the dresser in the background was far from neat and organized — there were cords, papers, and other miscellaneous items cluttering up the surface area. It just goes to show that Bell doesn't obsess about projecting perfectionism, but, rather, lives in the moment and shares her reality.

"We're behind on laundry, our house is a mess, there's dog hair that we're trying to constantly Swiffer," Bell told Parade in 2019, adding that her kids "leave stuff everywhere!" She continued, "It's like they booby-trap the house and sometimes they actually do booby-trap the house," noting, "Our oldest builds forts and a good half the week all the couch cushions are off. No one can sit on the couch and the only thing that's exposed are crumbs!" If that's not relatable, we don't know what is.

Kristen Bell is an open book. Ask her anything, but do not question how she does it all. "Being asked 'How do you do it?' implies that a) I am doing it, which I am not — I am doing what everybody else is doing, which is trying their best, and b) What is a balance, anyway? A balance teeter-totters. It moves, something gives and other things take, and other days it might be the opposite," she told Redbook. 

Furthermore, the career-minded mama told Working Mother that she believes that work-life balance is a myth, elaborating that it's just "a four-letter word" and encouraging people to just remove it from their vocabulary. But it's not all bad, as Bell also had some uplifting words of wisdom to share with Working Mother for moms experiencing guilt. "When you're at work, and they're missing you, and you're missing them, know you are setting a good example about what a hardworking woman is for them," she said.

There is no such thing as a perfect parent. Kristen Bell, co-founder of baby brand Hello Bello, has acknowledged that truth and has not been ashamed to admit her flaws and shortcomings. She recounted one of her top "#MomFail moments" in an interview with HuffPost. "One time we were sleeping all in a hotel room on a road trip, and my 2-year-old was sleeping in her crib. And she woke up at like six in the morning, and me, my husband and our 4-year-old pretended to be asleep," she shared. So, what did Bell do when her daughter cried out for food? Bell told HuffPost that she "took a Power Bar out of my purse, threw it in her crib and went back to bed." Hey, if the kid's satisfied and Bell gets more sleep, that's a win-win, right?

Bell also admitted that, when it comes to her parenting philosophy, she "makes up on the fly." Like the rest of us, Bell is just winging it, and she doesn't apologize for going with the flow.