Kristen Bell Says The Secret To A Happy Marriage Boils Down To 2 Words

Bell has been married to actor and "Armchair Expert" podcast host Dax Shepard for almost 10 years.

As Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard approach their 10-year wedding anniversary, the “Frozen” star said their secret to a happy marriage can be summed up in just two words. 

“Stay vulnerable,” Bell told ET in an article published Wednesday. “You’ve gotta be vulnerable.”

She and Shepard have learned they “have to be vulnerable when we don’t want to be,” she said.

“That’s what works for us,” she added. 

The two also are big proponents of therapy, and are open and honest with fans about using a third party to help them negotiate relationship lows. 

“Every couple of years, we’re like, ‘We’re being very antagonistic towards each other,’ and we don’t want that,” Bell told People in 2021. “We go back to therapy and figure out what I’m not doing that’s best for you and what you’re not doing that’s best for me, and how we can serve this team goal better.” 

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Shepard and Bell arrive to the 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards on Jan. 8, 2017.
Kevork Djansezian/NBC via Getty Images

Though some have complained they don’t like it when the entertainers share uglier aspects of their relationship, the “Veronica Mars” star said she just wants to be truthful. 

“We just try to be honest about how marriage, or companionship in any form, is hard sometimes,” Bell wrote in an Instagram comment responding to a detractor last year. “You can’t always be in control, or right, and it’s important to us that we lead with the honesty of your ‘perfect match’ being a myth.”

Shepard and Bell began dating in 2007 and tied the knot in October 2013. 

The two have two children: daughters Lincoln, 9, and Delta, 7. 

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