Bell asked her husband Shepard to clear the clog and said it was a moment that highlighted the bond they shared.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 5, 2021. It has since been updated.
Love comes in many forms and one among them is your partner nursing out a breastfeeding clog. Kristen Bell and her husband Dax Shepard spoke about the experience of dealing with breastfeeding clogs and how it brought them closer. The couple spoke about it on an episode of 'The Drew Barrymore Show', explaining that Bell had mastitis. Bell had first discussed it with Katie Lowes on her series 'Momsplaining' back in 2018. Shepard told Barrymore that it wasn't easy and took work. "Let's just say that I extracted mastitis and we'll leave everyone's imagination to wander," said Shepard, reported People. "Let me also add that it is not easy and not rewarding."
"I mean it is to know that you helped your partner but other than that it's where the rubber meets the road. It's down in the trenches you know?" said Shepard who shares two children with Bell — daughters Lincoln, and Delta. For Bell, it was a moment that made her "realize the level of commitment that this man had to me." Bell recalled the moment she told him he had to step up and clear the clog. "I said to my husband, 'I really need you to suck this out. We could talk about it, we could be weird about it, or you could just go ahead and nurse.' He pulled it out. He had a cup next to him. He was pulling out and spitting into this cup, and I've never been more in love in my life."
She also spoke about it on an episode of Momsplaining while talking to Katie Lowes. She said the method worked. "It works!" said Bell. Lowes had added that her husband had offered to step up if she faced a similar situation. "I've asked my husband and to be honest with you guys, Adam has never had to nurse out a clog but he has said numerous times, 'I would do it,'" recalled Lowes and Bell replied, "Because that's my boy right there!"
Bell and Shepard are very honest and open about their relationship and parenting styles and it's very refreshing to hear that from celebrities because it makes them incredibly relatable. They also discussed Shepard's previous open relationship and with him explaining how a switch clicked into the place after getting engaged to Bell. Shepard said Bell had valid reasons to be worried about him given his past but explains how they navigated their marriage. "I had been in an open relationship for nine years. I was blacked out a big chunk of my life. You know, there were a lot of things for her to be concerned about," he said, reported People.
Shepard said that once their relationship became more serious, the jealousy went away. "But, I'd say once we got engaged, some kind of switch for me seemed to change," he said. "And I find her to be incredibly not jealous, which is an incredibly hot characteristic in a partner." Bell said she's a "big believer in forgiveness and second chances" and constantly fought to see the best in Shepard, which she believes has guided them so far. "So, in the beginning, it was nerve-wracking dating Dax knowing his history of recovery and he's just this big force, but I was like, no, he's got it inside of him," she said. "He's got all this goodness. And I have been proven right! Because no one is as affectionate — I'm not even as affectionate with our girls as he is. And hopefully, they'll grow up healthier and happier and safer." The couple got married in 2013.
Bell gave idealists a reality check when it comes to love and marriage, adding that it takes a lot of commitment and work to make it tick. "We don't want anyone to think we met and it's been easy 'cause if that's someone's expectation of a relationship and certainly a marriage, it's a bad expectation to have," she said, before adding that they rely on therapy often to iron out the creases. "Every couple of years, we're like, 'We're being very antagonistic towards each other,' and we don't want that. 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. It's been incredibly helpful," she added.
References:
https://people.com/parents/dax-shepard-extracting-kristen-bell-mastitis-not-easy/
https://people.com/tv/dax-shepard-says-previous-open-relationship-led-to-jealousy-when-he-started-dating-kristen-bell/
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for Baby2Baby
