Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard ‘Role-Play’ Apologizing for Their Kids

When it comes to celebrity couples, Kristen Bell and her husband, Dax Shepard, (with whom she shares two kids) are known for being particularly candid. Whereas many celebrity couples choose to keep their relationships private and out of the public eye as much as possible, Bell and Shepard take a drastically different approach. Both of the actors have talked about their experience with marriage therapy and the ups and downs that come with being married for seven years.

Though Bell and Shepard might be couple goals for some, Bell says that their relationship is not always easy. Recently, Bell opened up about an explosive fight she had with her husband. The Frozen 2 alum shared that they both blacked out and failed to speak to each other for three days. The intensity of this fight seemed to be an outlier, but the two have definitely experienced their fair share of spats. Bell recently shared how she and her husband handle arguments in front of their kids.

Kristen Bell and her husband, Dax Shepard, handle conflict resolution in a unique way

Shepard and Bell have two daughters together. Lincoln, who is six, and Delta, who is five. Bell was recently a guest on The Motherly Podcast and she opened up about how she and her husband teach their kids about conflict resolution.

“We’ll come home, we’ll be tense with each other, we’ll snap at each other in the kitchen — not realizing they’re [Bell and Shepard’s kids] witnessing it — we put them to bed, we go into the bedroom, and just privately, we’ll say, ‘God, I’m sorry I snapped at you, I’ve had a really tough day,” Bell began. The actress continued on to share that she and her husband made an agreement that whenever they have an argument in front of their kids, and resolve it in private, they then role-play making up for their kids.

The couple does role-play apologies for their kids

“So [Shepard] said, let’s make a deal that whenever we make up behind closed doors, that we role-play the next morning. Every time we’re testy with each other, the next morning I’ll say, ‘Good morning, Daddy — I just wanted to say, last night, I had a really long day and I’m sorry that I snapped at you about, you know, not having the dinner that you wanted.’ And he would say, ‘Yeah, Mommy, you’re right, I had a hard day too, and I’m really sorry.’ And then we physically kiss and hug,” Bell shared.

Fans, of course, had mixed reactions to Bell and Shepard’s way of parenting. “I don’t hate the idea of making sure your kids see you apologize,” one person wrote. Other people agreed even though they aren’t the biggest fans of Shepard and Bell’s relationship.

Fans react to the information on Instagram

“I agree. i mean they’re an absolute mess but making sure your kids see you apologize to each other is super healthy. most kids only see their parents arguments but never see them make up, life just goes on and the kids have no clue if whatever the fight was about was resolved,” another person chimed in.

“I agree. i mean they’re an absolute mess but making sure your kids see you apologize to each other is super healthy. most kids only see their parents arguments but never see them make up, life just goes on and the kids have no clue if whatever the fight was about was resolved,” another person co-signed.

Others are concerned about gender norm expectations

Others weren’t as concerned about the way Bell was choosing to teach her kids about conflict resolution, rather they were concerned with the argument example she provided. “All I’m getting from this is that you can be beautiful, extremely professionally successful, and rich and some man will still think he’s entitled to scream at you about his dinner,” one person noted.

“Right?! It’s also pretty dickish to complain about the food your wife made you in front of your children. Sets a precedent for the kids that you can refuse whatever dinner your parents put in front of you,” another person chimed in. Who knows if Bell and Shepard have truly argued about dinner or if this was merely a hypothetical explanation, but at least they’re trying to model healthy behavior for their kids.