Entertainment

The Reason Dax Shepard Married Kristen Bell Will Make You Love Them Even More

by Allyson Koerner
Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

There's no denying these two are a beloved celebrity couple who many admire for their extreme love for one another. Well, just wait until you hear the reason Dax Shepard married Kristen Bell in the first place. Believe it or not, but the former Parenthood actor originally didn't want to marry Bell, let alone anyone. Marriage wasn't on Shepard's list of must-dos, because he simply didn't believe in it. That said, once he fell in love with the Veronica Mars star, he started singing a different tune.

After meeting and falling hard for Shepard, Bell was well aware of her current husband's feelings about marriage. Despite wanting to get married one day, The Good Place actor accepted Shepard's views knowing he would never put a ring on her finger. As the current cover stars of People's latest issue, Bell told the magazine,

“He has a great argument that the state having a piece of paper doesn’t mean he’s going to be nice to me and by my side for the rest of my life. [Rather], that is going to be evidenced by how we treat each other and the commitment that we make."

Those are definitely all valid points, and ones Bell didn't make Shepard feel bad about, especially knowing she was strongly committed to someone even if they were never going to actually marry. Bell explained,

"I had surrendered, like 'Okay, well, I’m never going to get any sort of traditional marriage out of this, and that’s okay because I trust him.' I really, really trusted him and believed that we were going to go the long haul."

However, the more Shepard got to know Bell and fell in love with her, he stopped thinking of himself. For the Armchair Expert podcast host, Shepard wanted to do something that he knew meant a lot to Bell — commit to her by the way of saying "I do."

As Shepard told People about asking Bell to marry him in 2009 (they officially tied the knot in 2013), "Ultimately, I was like, ‘Well, I’m doing it because my partner wants that.'" Then, he gave a response that shows not only how deep his love runs for Bell, but also how sometimes it's OK to sacrifice certain things for your partner because of the love you have for them. Shepard said directly to Bell during their joint interview,

"Forget the tradition or history of marriage as a concept, you knowing I was doing something that I didn’t want to do because I loved you was a big sign for you."

Bell was, of course, happy with Shepard's decision and felt even more secure in their relationship as a result.

She told People about his proposal,

"It just felt more normal. We do a lot of things differently, but there’s a couple things where I’m just like, ‘God, can we not just fall inside the lines once in a while? I want to wear a pretty piece of jewelry. It’s fun!' It felt nice afterwards."

Shepard's decision just goes to show you that love can evolve in all kinds of ways. Sometimes you end up doing something for your partner because of the love you have for them and there's nothing wrong with that, especially if it's for the right reasons. And now here Bell and Shepard are 12 years later with two beautiful daughters, Lincoln and Delta, and living a happy life as husband and wife.