Kristen Bell Reveals Husband Dax Shepard’s Sobriety Allows Her to ‘Have Him In’ Her Life

Throughout the nearly 15 years since he gave up drinking alcohol, Dax Shepard has been candidly honest about his struggle with addiction. As for his wife, Kristen Bell, the actress doesn’t take her husband’s sobriety lightly. In a recent interview with People, The Good Place star opened up about why Dax, 44, being sober means everything to her.

“I’m extraordinarily [happy] that he has stayed sober because that’s what allows me to have him in my life as a husband and as a father,” the 38-year-old — who shares daughters Lincoln, 5, and Delta, 4, with Dax — explained.

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“I know how much effort has to be put into staying sober,” she shared. “I don’t mean that to be like, I come home and see him shaking and looking at a whiskey ad or something, [but] there are different elements you have to deal with when you’re staying sober. It’s a ton of mental control and evolution.”

Although Dax became sober before the two got together, Kristen admitted that she’s “always watched” her husband as he’s been “been running towards good goals.” She continued, “It’s just impressive for someone to have been that mindful about something.”

And with great risk comes great reward. Every year on the Parenthood star’s anniversary of getting sober, Kristen goes all out to make her hubby feel special. “The nicest presents she’s gotten me are always on my sober birthday,” he shared, adding that she “spoils the hell” out of him. “In fact, my real birthday … still haven’t gotten a present!” he added.

One year, Kristen gifted her hubby an original copy of The Adventurers by Harold Robbins and had close friends and family pen sweet messages to the handsome hunk inside. “That was incredible,” Dax said of the book that he holds near and dear to his heart after he was named after the lead character in the novel.

On the 14th anniversary of Dax’s sobriety last year, the Forgetting Sarah Marshall actress took to Instagram and wrote a touching message to her husband on the special day. “I scrape together 14 years of sobriety, and she writes a little flowery thank you,” Dax joked to the outlet. “Now there’s headlines all over the country about Kristen’s accomplishment of writing this letter. I’m like, ‘Just like you to steal my thunder!’ I’m the one that went to 10,000 AA meetings. At no point was the message of any of the stories like, ‘Good job, Dax.’ It was like, ‘Can you imagine being loved by a woman like Kristen Bell?'” All jokes aside, Dax admitted it was “crazy sweet.” What an amazing couple!