Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard pose for photos after anniversary drama

kristen bell and Dax Shepard As they rang in the New Year, they looked more in love than ever.

On Instagram, Shepard, 51, shared a post Filled with photos of them bonding with each other and enjoying fun times with friends and family, they’re kicking off 2026 in style.

“Crazy fun new year. Big thanks to the Richardsons and @justbobbidotcom 💙💙💙 (we laughed too because our daughter covered all three shots with four fingers but somehow took forever! May 2026 be like this all year long :)” he captioned the post on Thursday, January 1.

it’s over her own Instagram accountBell, 45, shared a similarly happy photo from the same celebration, simply captioning it: “Family 2026🎉🎊🎈.”

couple Started dating in 2007 Married in 2013. They welcomed their first child, daughter Lincoln, in March 2013, and expanded their family with daughter Delta, born in December 2014.

Liked posts follow Bale sparks backlash last year, after sharing a controversial post to mark their wedding anniversary.

Fans were divided when Bell uploaded a post of Shepard with his daughters and jokingly praised him for promising to never “kill” her.

“Happy 12th anniversary to the man who once said to me, ‘I would never kill you.’ A lot of men kill their wives at some point. As much as I want to kill you, I never will, ❤️'” Bell wrote in an Instagram caption at the time.

“How crazy to post during Domestic Violence Awareness Month,” one fan responded in the comments section, while another added, “Domestic violence is not a joke.”

Another fan commented: “I love Kristen Bell but she should not have written that article especially during Domestic Violence Month. She needs to apologize.”

However, some of her other followers did not find the post offensive.

“I spent twenty three years in an abusive marriage and I love this article. If you don’t want to be triggered, get off the internet,” one user wrote, while another added, “I was in an abusive relationship but I got out of it. This article was written to her husband, not all of us! Why do people have to take it to the next level??? She was talking to her husband but sharing it with us. Not everything has a hidden message!”

After the mixing reaction, no one wants this Star Limited comments on posts and skipped a planned Today Show appearance.

Both Bell and Shepard have opened up about their relationship journeys over the years, including their rocky beginnings when they briefly split.

“I already knew I was in love with him, but he was hesitant because he knew he was still dating other people,” Bell told pop candy August 2017. “He sat me down and said, ‘I can’t accept this right now. I think you’re great, but I’m still dating other people.’ And I just kind of liquefied and fell to the floor, but I felt so much respect that he had the guts to tell me that we weren’t in the same place.”

She added, “He called me and said, ‘I don’t know what I’m thinking. I’m dating other people, but they’re not as interesting as you, and I don’t know what I’m doing,’ and then he came back. But I still always remind him of when he broke up with me.”

For his part, Shepard seems confident he made the right decision as he gushed about their relationship nearly two decades later.

“I’ve always said this, if Kristen and I were to break up, I would only describe it as still being a very successful relationship,” Shepard shared during a September 2025 episode of the Armchair Expert podcast. “Like, we love each other to death. We have two beautiful kids. We have a wonderful time together.”