Married 13 Years Ago Today, This Divisive Couple Never Lets The Rumor Mill Get Them Down

The average marriage typically lasts just over 20 years, give or take. But when it comes to Hollywood marriages, they're often over in about a third of that time. Celebrity divorce lawyer Vanessa Lloyd-Platt calculated that celeb marriages generally last just under 7.5 years, while celebrity splits famously result in drawn-out divorce proceedings. One A-list couple that has so far stood the test of time is Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard. But, while they clearly love each other, not everyone loves them as a couple. Bell and Shepard have some odd things in their marriage that you can't just ignore. But even with all the backlash that they've received over everything from an anniversary post to how they're raising their kids, the celebrity couple is still going strong. 

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In fact, they're celebrating their 13th wedding anniversary on October 17, 2026. Bell and Shepard first met at a dinner party in 2007, and they started dating not long after. Their relationship has weathered infidelity speculation, with talk that Shepard cheated on Bell early in their relationship with Kayti Edwards, Julie Andrews' step-granddaughter. Edwards and Shepard did date before he got with the "Veronica Mars" star, but the podcast host has staunchly denied any romantic entanglement with her after he started seeing Bell officially. There are also rumors that the two are swingers. While we're not here to judge people's lifestyles, it turns out that Bell and Shepard don't really swing that way and any talk of swapping keys or the like was just a joke.

On their 12th wedding anniversary, Kristen Bell found herself in hot water over a social media post that had people coming after both her and Dax Shepard. The actor posted a picture on Instagram of the "Punk'd" alum holding her tight in a close hug, captioning it: "Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who, after an episode of Dateline, once said to me: 'I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I'm heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.'" Understandably, people really weren't impressed by Bell seemingly making light of domestic violence. The "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" star didn't say anything publicly, but she did turn off the comments for the post, possibly in response to the negative public reaction.

Some of the other controversies surrounding this celebrity couple involve their kids. They welcomed their first daughter Lincoln in 2013, followed by second daughter Delta in 2014. Then, in 2021, Bell and Shepard admitted that they didn't bathe their daughters until they started to reek, which not everybody was impressed with. The "Nobody Wants This" star later complained that she was getting tired of talking about it, arguing that everybody parents differently. As long as Bell and Shepard are on the same page, that's all that matters. The "Frozen" star has also acknowledged on multiple occasions that marriage is hard. Bell and Shepard regularly attend therapy and couples counseling. It's clear that the two of them are in it to win it, no matter what anyone else has to say.