Having a newborn puts parents into straight survival mode. Sure, there’s new life, and it’s beautiful and it’s easily the most miraculous event you could experience. But it’s also tough, and no amount of celebrity or money will shield you from the early days of parenthood, which is the most important job you’ll likely ever be asked to do on no sleep. Breastfeeding is a whole other beast as well, and Dax Shepard alluded to a pretty memorable experience he had while helping wife Kristen Bell work through a complication.
Drew Barrymore interviewed the Family Game Fight hosts on The Drew Barrymore Show, and in an attempt to get “extra spicy” with the candid couple, Barrymore asked about the time Dax Shepard helped Kristen Bell relieve a mastitis, which is a painful infection that happens in breastfeeding when one of the milk ducts gets clogged.
Kristen Bell maintained a good poker face at the mention of the certainly unpleasant memory, responding to the inquiry of if her husband’s unclogging procedure was “the hottest,” by saying it was, because of the level of commitment it required. Dax Shepard expanded on the response, but gave graciously few details of what such assistance entailed.
Let’s just say I extracted a mastitis. We’ll leave everyone’s imagination to wander. Let me also add it was not easy and it’s not rewarding. I mean, it is to know you’ve helped your partner. But other than that, it’s where the rubber meets the road. It’s down in the trenches.
The assumption might be that because handling of the breasts was involved that Dax Shepard would enjoy such a task. The actor shot that down pretty thoroughly, without going into explicit detail of what Kristen Bell simply said was “messy.” Boobs are wonderful things when they’re not swollen and clogged and infected, but remember survival mode, where they become first and foremost a provider of sustenance to the new life you’ve created, and honestly, things can get really painful.
Other than wanting to spare Drew Barrymore’s viewers the gory, TMI details of mastitis, Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard seemed almost apprehensive to put more personal information into the public domain after the celebrity bathing debate erupted earlier this year.
Mila Kunis started a whole thing when she joked on Dax Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert about not bathing her and Ashton Kutcher’s kids very often. Kristen Bell also weighed in — as did many celebrities, including the thrice-showering Dwayne Johnson — supporting her Forgetting Sarah Marshall co-star by saying she was a fan of “waiting for the stink” before later having to walk back her joke for the less amused.
I’m a fan of real talk when it comes to parenting and marriage, and this A-list couple has been open on both fronts, always seemingly willing to discuss issues including couple’s therapy, and Dax Shepard’s struggles with addiction. Shepard opened up in January about falling off the wagon after 16 years and the support Kristen Bell showed in that tough time. The couple also admitted that quarantining through the pandemic forced them to work through their annoyances with each other with the help of a therapist.
Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell wrapped their first season as cohosts of Family Game Fight in September. Shepard also leant his voice recently to Paw Patrol: The Movie and can be heard on his Armchair Expert podcast. Bell reprised her role as the voice of Gossip Girl on this year’s HBO Max reboot and starred in the movie Queenpins. Be sure to check out our 2021 Movie Release Schedule to see what’s coming out soon.