Kristen Bell on her husband Dax Shepard's relapse after 16 years of sobriety: 'I will continue to stand by him'
Kristen Bell is speaking out in support of her husband Dax Shepard following his relapse after 16 years of sobriety.
During a recent appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," the actress and mother of two, 40, gave an update on her actor husband, revealing he is now "doing great." She also spoke about her reaction to his relapse.
"I mean look, everybody's up against their own demons. Sometimes it's anxiety and depression, sometimes it's substance abuse," she shared.
"The thing I love most about Dax is A) that he was able to tell me and tell us and say we need a different plan. Right?" she continued. "Like we have a plan. If he has to take medication, for any reason, I have to administer it. But he was like, 'So, we need a stronger plan. I was faltering and I have to do some sort of emotional work to figure out why I wanted to use again.'"
She said that she also loves that Shepard is "addicted to growth" and "addicted to evolving." She also shared the steps he took to recommit to his sobriety.
"He was like, 'I don't want to risk this family and I did, so let's put new things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.' We're going back to therapy," she shared. "I will continue to stand by him because he's very, very worth it."
Bell's comments came after Shepard spoke at length about his relapse on his podcast, "Armchair Expert," in September.
He said his issues with prescription pain medicine started back up again due to problems with his hand and shoulder that began earlier this year.
The actor admitted he was lying to people in his life while taking excessive amounts of painkillers he had been prescribed, later buying pills and carrying around this "enormous secret."
In the episode, recorded Monday, Sept. 21, he announced he was seven days sober.
Following the episode, fans of the star praised him for his transparency about the ups and downs of battling addiction. Read more about Shepard's podcast discussing his relapse here.
