A Brief Look at Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's Remarkably Basic Marriage
Celebrities

Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard are the kind of beloved celebrity couple who are constantly proving their “realness” to the world. Their cute fights, about things like Dax’s propensity for ugly chairs, happen on Ellen; they frequently give “candid” interviews, saying things like “monogamy is tough.”
This authenticity would be much easier to believe—charming even!—if it weren’t so plainly performed for their fans. Their wedding, a civil ceremony to which a very-pregnant Kristen wore black: so lovely. Smugly releasing the photos on morning TV? Less lovely. Refusing to marry until the gay marriage is legal? Cool, I guess. Proposing to your heterosexual partner on Twitter immediately after the Supreme Court passes marriage equality? Ugh, could we not. Great that Dax “speaks openly” about addiction, and Kristen “speaks openly” about her depression—if only “speaks openly” weren’t a euphemism for saying just enough to be relatable and of the moment without chewing on controversy.
So how surprising (how charming even!) that there exists a single artifact of public authenticity between the pair—an almost unbearable two hour and one minute long conversation between the couple on the first episode of Dax’s podcast, Armchair Expert. (Podcast tagline: “I am endlessly fascinated by the messiness of being human”).
We open with Kristen, who is somewhat concerned that the podcast is taking her away from Michaels, where she needs to procure garlands. “That is a yarn store,” Dax clarifies, for anyone who, like Dax Shepard, has never been to a Michaels.