Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard Ring in the New Year with Affectionate Celebration
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard looked more affectionate than ever as they celebrated the start of the new year.
Sharing a post on Instagram, Shepard, 51, included several images of themselves embracing and enjoying a festive time with friends and family as they ushered in 2026 in style.
“A wonderfully fun New Year’s. Deep gratitude for The Richardsons and @justbobbidotcom (also we’re laughing because our daughter had all four fingers over all three lenses and it somehow worked! May all of 2026 unfold this way:)” he wrote as a caption on Thursday, January 1.
On her own Instagram account, Bell, 45, posted similar cheerful pictures from the same festivities, simply captioning it, “Family 2026.”
Kristen Bell Showed Affection to Dax Shepard in a Birthday Tribute Post
The couple began dating in 2007 before getting married in 2013. In March 2013, they welcomed their first child, daughter Lincoln, and expanded their family with daughter Delta, who was born in December 2014.
The loving post comes after Bell received criticism last year following a controversial post she shared to mark their wedding anniversary.
Fans were divided when Bell uploaded a picture of Shepard with their daughters and jokingly praised him for promising to never leave her.
“Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once told me: ‘I would never abandon you. Many men have abandoned their wives at some point. Even though I’m strongly motivated to abandon you, I never would,’” Bell wrote in the Instagram caption at the time.
“That’s a strange thing to post during Domestic Violence Awareness month,” one follower responded in the comments section, while another added, “Domestic violence isn’t a subject for jokes.”
Yet another follower commented, “I think Kristen Bell shouldn’t have written that post, especially during domestic violence month. She should issue an apology.”
However, some of her other followers didn’t find the post offensive.
“I was in an abusive marriage for TWENTY THREE YEARS and I love this post. If you don’t want to be upset, stay off the Internet,” one user wrote, while another added, “I was in an abusive relationship and I escaped. This post is meant for her husband, not for everyone! Why do people always take things to an extreme? She is speaking to her husband but sharing with us. Not everything has a hidden meaning!”
After the mixed reaction, the Nobody Wants This star limited comments on the post and skipped a planned appearance on Today.
Kristen Bell Shared Pictures of Her Children With Dax Shepard to Celebrate His Sobriety
Bell and Shepard have both been open about their relationship journey over the years, including their difficult beginnings when they briefly separated.
“I already knew that I was in love with him and he was hesitant because he knew he was still seeing other people,” Bell told PopSugar in August 2017. “He sat me down and said, ‘I can’t do this right now. I think you’re wonderful, but I am still dating other people.’ And then I, like, dissolved and fell to the ground, but I felt incredibly respected that he had the courage to tell me we weren’t on the same page.”
She added, “He called me and he was like, ‘I don’t know what I was thinking. I was seeing someone else but they’re just not as interesting as you, and I don’t know what I’m doing,’ and he came back. But I still always remind him of when he broke up with me.”
For his part, Shepard seemed to believe he made the right decision as he expressed admiration for their relationship almost two decades later.
“I say this all the time, like, if Kristen and I ever split up, I would only describe this as still a remarkably successful relationship,” Shepard shared on a September 2025 episode of his “Armchair Expert” podcast. “Like, we loved each other deeply. We had these two beautiful children. We had a wonderful time together.”
