5 Times Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard Reminded Us Marriage Is Hard Work

Marriage isn’t easy, even if Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard make it look like it is.

The Frozen star, who turns 37 on Wednesday, and the 43-year-old actor have been married for more than four years, have been together for more than 10, and share two daughters.

The two are refreshingly candid about their love lives—not to mention life in general—on social media and in press interviews.

“We really just get by. We feel, you know, a little vulnerable just as much as everyone else does,” Bell said in June.

Here are five times Bell and Shepard reminded us that marriage is hard work.

1. Couple’s Therapy: The two are open about how they have sought counseling to work out relationship problems.

“You do better in the gym with a trainer; you don’t figure out how to cook without reading a recipe,” Bell told Good Housekeeping in 2015. “Therapy is not something to be embarrassed about.”

Kristen Bell, Dax Shepard, Film Independent Spirit Awards

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

2. Slimey Situations: It could be beneficial for both partners to try to laugh off some unpleasant situations, namely those one person could have stopped. In June, Bell posted on Instagram Stories a video showing a slug that ended up in her salad, which her husband prepared with lettuce grown in their garden. Shepard joked it was just a “lil’ but of protein.”

“The terrible thing was he has never gone outside and picked the lettuce,” Bell said. “He’s made salads before, bought salad at the grocery store. I’m like, ‘I grow six different kinds of lettuce, you can just grab it.’ The first time he does it and there’s a gigantic slug.”

3. Fights Happen: At anyone who’s been in a relationship knows, disagreements can occur over seemingly anything. In January, Bell recalled on Jimmy Kimmel Live! how when she and Shepard once took a motorcycle road trip and argued over what music to play and about whether they should wear helmets at all times, as states have different laws.

“If he was on the highway, he had to wear the helmet. But if he was on side streets, he didn’t have to wear the helmet,” the actress said. “I’m not joking, he took side streets for like four hours just to make a point.”

4. Nobody’s Perfect: In February, Bell shared marriage advice on Instagram by request of a fan who was getting married.

“Loving someone despite their faults, failings, or character defects, is the most powerful loving thing you can do,” she wrote. “Rejoice in what makes the other person happy and allow them their individual interests. Know that everyone is doing the best they can with what they’ve got. So get a bigger emotional tool box to fix your problems.”

5. Keeping It Spicy: “The funny keeps it spicy for us a lot. He keeps me laughing all the time. I try to make him laugh and every now and again I get there,” Kristen said in 2017. “But really it’s just being aware of the other person’s needs.”

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