Dax Shepard Shares How He Discussed His Relapse With Daughters Lincoln and Delta

Dax Shepard, who's been open about his sobriety journey, reflected on the discussion he and Kristen Bell had with their kids about his relapse in September.

By Alyssa Morin Apr 28, 2021 1:32 AMTags
Watch: Dax Shepard "Grateful" for Fan Support After Relapse

Dax Shepard is opening up about the conversation he had with his and Kristen Bell's two kids following his relapse last fall.

While speaking on Chelsea Clinton's In Fact podcast, the 46-year-old actor reflected on the moment he told his family about his relapse with pills.

"They knew when I relapsed. We explained, 'Well, daddy was on these pills for his surgery and then daddy was a bad boy and he started getting his own pills,'" Dax shared, per JustJared. "Yeah, we tell them the whole thing."

The Armchair Expert podcaster explained that his daughters, Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 6, are aware of his sobriety journey.

"They know that dad goes to an AA meeting every Tuesday and Thursday," he noted, adding, "One of the cuter moments was—I wanna say my oldest daughter was 3—back when my daughters wanted to be with me 24 hours a day. She said, 'Where are you going?' I said, 'I'm going to AA.' She said, 'Why do you have to go?' I said, 'Because I'm an alcoholic and if I don't go there, then I'll drink and then I'll be a terrible dad.'"

photos
Dax Shepard's Quotes About Addiction and Sobriety

"And she said, 'Can I go?' I said, 'Well, no, you got to be an alcoholic.' And she goes, 'I'm gonna be an alcoholic,'" the Chips star continued. "I said, 'You might become one. The odds are not in your favor, but you're not there yet.'"

But, as the actor described, the aftermath of his relapse was not nearly as sweet as the moment with his little one.

Joe Pugliese/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images

"I had to go to my f--king meeting I've been going to for 16 years... It was terrible," he said. "Weirdly, it was terrible leading up to it because I had built this whole identity in my head around having 16 years. I loved having 16 years. I was holding onto that so much, I was really scared of not having that."

In January, the Parenthood alum reflected on his decision to publicly share his relapse.

"I did not want to at all," he told Ellen DeGeneres on her eponymous show. "I had all kinds of bizarre fears like, you know, I have sponsors on my show, is that something that could cost me money financially?"

He said his biggest worry was losing his connection to those working on their own sobriety journey.

"I get so much esteem out of being someone who is vocally sober and I have people who write me on month one or on week two and I love that," he pointed out. "That's my favorite thing about being in public. And so I was terrified I would lose that, I really cherish that."

Hello Bello

However, his point of view changed after speaking to a friend, who put everything into perspective.

"If your real goal is to help people, it's not very helpful that you're 16 years sober and married to Kristen Bell, that doesn't help a ton of people," he recalled his friend telling him. "In fact, it probably makes their life worse. So the fact that you just fell, that's the actual value, that's the thing that you could do that's helpful."

Dax told Chelsea just how "good" he's been these days, noting it seems he's gotten a "second chance to confront all these things that had been building up" over the years.

As he shared of his sobriety, "Today at least, I feel better with 6 months than I felt at 15 years."