Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s marriage being described as a “three-way,” with their close friend and business partner Monica Padman involved, is not new. However, their relationship has now raised concerns, as a new report suggests the couple are constantly bickering.
Padman, the co-host of Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, who previously served as a babysitter to his two children with Bell, is understood to have a non-intimate relationship with him.
Highlights
- Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s “three-way marriage” with Monica Padman is raising fresh concerns amid reports of constant bickering.
- Insiders claim the couple is frequently “at each other’s throats,” with Padman often caught in the middle.
- Recent backlash over Bell’s controversial anniversary post and Shepard’s podcast remarks has intensified scrutiny around their marriage.
That, though, has not stopped her friends from expressing concern as a source has claimed that her involvement in the pair’s marriage has friends thinking it is not “healthy” for her, particularly as she is single and unmarried.
Despite her attempts to stay away from the couple’s frequent fights, she reportedly ends up getting involved.
A new report has spotlighted Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell’s conflict-filled marriage
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Padman, a Georgia native, moved to Los Angeles in 2011 to pursue acting and worked the front desk at SoulCycle before taking up a babysitting job for Shepard and Bell’s two daughters, Lincoln and Delta, according to The Daily Mail.
She eventually became their full-time nanny, then transitioned into being Bell’s personal assistant and speechwriter, and later Shepard’s podcast co-host, making herself “invaluable” to the couple.
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According to the outlet’s source, the pair are “constantly in arguments and constantly at each other’s throats.”
Despite being the so-called trusted “third wheel” in Bell and Shepard’s marriage, the source explained that Padman tries to stay neutral whenever the couple argues with each other.
The bickering, notably, dates back to 2018, when Bell appeared as a guest on the opening episode of Armchair Expert. Shepard, at the time, said “being impatient” with each other was a trademark of their relationship.
According to the source’s latest update, the pair have “learned that they are the only ones who will deal with each other’s drivel and disconnect.”
Image credits: kristenanniebell
“Always being at odds seems to be what makes them tick and is their lifeblood,” the source added.
Netizens were unimpressed by the news, as one called the couple “the most annoying in the world,” while another said they would prefer not hearing “another word about their marriage” ever again.
Details about their fights followed an alarming 2025 social media post by Kristen Bell
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Bell took to Instagram in October 2025 to celebrate her 12th wedding anniversary with her husband.
She shared a photo of the two embracing while seated on the edge of a bed to mark the milestone.
While the image itself did not raise concerns among her followers, the caption she paired with it did.
Image credits: kristenanniebell
“Happy 12th anniversary to the man who once said to me ‘I would never k*ll you.’ A lot of men have k*lled their wives at certain points. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to k*ll you, I never would,” Bell had expressed.
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Netizens expressed disappointment with the Nobody Wants This star’s caption, as they said it generalized domestic violence.
“Please keep in mind that this is something real that lots of people suffer from daily. The text could be triggering to victims,” one wrote.
“How can any self-respecting woman stay with a man like that? That would have me leaving so fast your head would spin,” added the second.
A third noted that Shepard’s confession was “very weird.”
“Yikes… sometimes we don’t need to post all of our thoughts,” remarked a fourth.
“Is femicide not a thing in the US?” another asked, prompting someone else to add, “Domestic violence and violence against women aren’t jokes, Kristen.”
Dax Shepard has sparked several controversies in recent weeks
Image credits: Monica Schipper/Getty Images
Cher appeared on the Armchair Expert podcast this January and was joined by Bell, whom she has known since they worked together in Burlesque in 2010.
About halfway through the episode, the singer and actress gestured to her former co-star and told Shepard that she is “definitely the better half” of their duo.
“I don’t know about that,” Bell responded, and the conversation quickly moved on, but Shepard decided to circle back.
“Who would you like to see Kristen with?” he asked Cher, prompting a laugh from Bell.
“Who would be your dream partner for her? Because I know you think she could do better, and I don’t disagree. Who would be your pick?” he added.
Bell and Cher both seemed taken aback by the seriousness with which Shepard posed the question, with the latter offering no answer.
Social media users sided with Cher on her take on their marriage, with one saying she was “saying what we’re all feeling, tbh.”
“Maybe Cher knows more than we do,” another added.
The same month, Shepard was criticized for revealing he was “newly obsessed” with Sabrina Carpenter, who, at 26 years old, is young enough to be his daughter.
One netizen called him a “creepy l*ser,” while another said, “He makes me cringe.”
“It’s incredibly disrespectful to his wife,” a third added.
“Vile person,” opined a fourth.
Bell appears unbothered by the commentary surrounding her and Shepard’s marriage, though, as she took to Instagram after hosting Sunday night’s Actors Awards to thank him for his support.
“Not for one moment do I think I could do this job on my own,” she wrote.
"I see a breakup coming. Hollywood couples always break up regardless of children," a netizen prophesized
