American actor Dax Shepard has revealed that his 11-year-old daughter has already told him she “can’t wait” to become a mother, a conversation that led him to offer to pay for her eggs to be frozen once Delta turns 18.
The remarks were shared on the January 5 episode of Shepard’s podcast Armchair Expert, where the 51-year-old reflected on how the topic of motherhood unexpectedly came up at home and how he chose to respond.
Highlights
- Dax Shepard said his 11-year-old daughter told him she “can’t wait” to have a baby one day.
- The actor then offered to pay for her eggs to be frozen when she turns 18, citing career realities.
- Listeners reacted harshly, calling the conversation premature and unsettling.
“Delty was saying how she can’t wait to have a baby,” Shepard told listeners.
Rather than dismissing the comment, Shepard said the statement aligned with what he already sees in his daughter’s daily behavior.
“For people who don’t know, our life is a traveling circus of Delty’s stuffies,” he said. “The bulk of our luggage as a family are her stuffies.”
Listeners, however, had a completely different reaction.
Dax Shepard was blasted online after he said he would pay for his 11-year-old daughter’s eggs to be frozen
Image credits: Rodin Eckenroth/Variety/Getty Images
Shepard shares daughters Delta, 11, and Lincoln, 12, with his wife, Kristen Bell.
The actor explained that when Delta first voiced her desire to become a mom, his primary concern was avoiding any reaction that could be interpreted as judgment.
“She’s saying she wants to have a baby, and I said, ‘When do you think you’ll have your first child? When you turn 18?’ I want to be supportive of whatever,” he said.
“I don’t want to plant any seeds that I’d be judgmental or whatever.”
Image credits: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/YouTube
Delta quickly rejected the idea of having a child at 18.
Because of this, Shepard said he assumed she might eventually want to start a family later in life, estimating between the ages of 35 and 45, based on what many women face when balancing careers and motherhood.
Image credits: Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard/YouTube
That assumption, in his mind, led to a more practical offer.
“I said, ‘If you want to, we’ll freeze your eggs when you’re 18. I’ll pay for you to get your eggs frozen so you don’t have to think about that,’” Shepard said.
He immediately acknowledged the privilege behind that suggestion.
“Acknowledging all luck and privilege, obviously, this isn’t an option for most people,” he added.
“But I think given where it’s, the trajectory it would make the most sense. I think they’re going to be wrestling with the same thing every woman is. You’re gonna want to do your career….”
Listeners were put off by Shepard’s immediate decision to discuss freezing eggs with his pre-pubescent daughter
Image credits: kristenanniebell/Instagram
Delta, however, did not agree with her father’s timeline. Shepard said his daughter thought the idea of having children between 35 and 45 was “crazy” and “too old.”
“Again, she’s 11 so that probably seems like 80,” Shepard said. “She’s thinking mid-20s.”
Image credits: kristenanniebell/Instagram
Shepard has previously shared similar exchanges that reflect his daughter’s curiosity about pregnancy and family. In March 2025, he recalled another discussion on Armchair Expert, this time about the 2007 movie Juno.
“She goes, ‘But do you know what Juno is?’ and I go, ‘No…,’” Shepard said. “And she’s like, ‘Well, it’s a movie.’ And I go, ‘The movie Juno? Yes, I know.’ And she goes, ‘Yeah, it’s a story about a girl who gets pregnant.’”
When Shepard responded, “‘That’s a little nasty,’” he said his daughter challenged him directly. “And she goes, ‘What’s nasty about wanting to have a baby with somebody?’”
Image credits: kristenanniebell/Instagram
Listener reactions were varied but almost unilaterally critical. For most, the idea of a parent immediately veering into freezing eggs when talking about motherhood with an 11-year-old felt “jarring.”
“To talk about harvesting your 11 year old daughter's eggs…” one wrote. “This part of the conversation should have waited to happen when she is 18 or older.”
Some fans defended Shepard, arguing he simply wanted to protect her daughter’s dream
Image credits: Ethan Miller/Getty Images
“These are the same people that brag about not bathing. So I expect nothing but disgusting things from them,” one commenter wrote.
“May I ask what child at the age of 11 can grasp all of the emotional, psychological, and financial elements and what it entails in becoming a mother?” another wrote.
“To even entertain the conversation of freezing your eggs with an 11-year-old is ludicrous.”
Some of Shepard’s fans pushed back, arguing that his remarks were being misconstrued.
“He’s not bringing her to have her eggs harvested at 11,” one commenter said. “He acknowledges that she wants to be a mother one day and wants her to be able to have that dream come true.”
Others took issue with the actor immediately labeling his daughter’s curiosity about the topic as “nasty.”
Shepard has not responded directly to the backlash.
"I'd wait." Listeners felt the conversation was inappropriate for Shepard's daughter's age
