Kristen Bell opens up about her decision to 'stand by' husband Dax Shepard after his recent relapse
- Kristen Bell spoke about her decision to "stand by" her husband Dax Shepard following his recent relapse.
- The actress said he's "doing really great" during her visit to "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" on Wednesday.
- "We're going back to therapy and I just love that he's addicted to growth," Bell added.
- The "Frozen" actress added, "I will continue to stand by him because he's very, very worth it."
Kristen Bell spoke about her decision to "stand by" her husband Dax Shepard after he recently relapsed.
Following 16 years of sobriety, the "Parenthood" actor shared that he became addicted to Vicodin after doctors prescribed the painkiller following surgery for an August motorcycle accident.
The "Veronica Mars" actress, who shares two daughters with Shepard, said he's "doing really great" on Wednesday's episode of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show."
"I mean look, you know, everybody's up against their own demons, sometimes it's anxiety and depression, sometimes it's substance abuse," she said.
Bell said she was grateful that Shepard was willing to open up about his relapse and ask for a "different plan."
"Like we have a plan, if he has to take medication for any reason I have to administer it. But he was like, 'So we need a stronger plan, I was faltering and I have to do some sort of emotional work to figure out why I wanted to use again,'" she said, applauding her husband for being "addicted to evolving."
"He was like, 'I don't want to risk this family and I did. So let's put new things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again,'" she recalled. "We're going back to therapy and I just love that he's addicted to growth. I will continue to stand by him because he's very, very worth it."
After struggling with cocaine and alcohol addiction, Shepard became sober in 2004.
On an episode of his podcast, "Armchair Expert," back in September, the actor shared that he recently relapsed.
Shepard prefaced the conversation by stating that he used Percocet eight years ago after a doctor prescribed the opioid following a different motorcycle accident. But after taking the drugs then, Shepard said he "moved on" and continued to be sober.
But when he had surgery after getting into another motorcycle crash earlier this year, Shepard said his doctor prescribed him Vicodin, which he took "all day" for eight weeks, he admitted.
Shepard said he was using eight 30-milligram pills of Vicodin daily, without telling anyone that he was becoming addicted to the drug.
"I know that's an amount that's going to result in a pretty bad withdrawal. And I start[ed] getting really scared, and I'm starting to feel really lonely. And I just have this enormous secret," he said.
Shepard titled the episode, "Episode 7," a reference to the seven days that had passed without using any substances at the time of recording.
"An episode I hoped I'd never have to record, but one I felt I owed to all the beautiful Armcheries, who have been on this ride with me for the last couple years. This was Monday, say today is 11," he wrote in a caption on Instagram, promoting the episode.
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