Kristen Bell makes candid admission about ‘brutal’ family life as she reveals she cries ‘weekly’
Kristen Bell has said she cries ‘weekly’ due to the ‘brutal’ challenges and strains of family life.
Bell, 46, has been married to fellow actor Dax Shepard in 2013 after being engaged for three years.
The couple went on to have their first child, a daughter called Lincoln in March 2013 followed by a second daughter, Delta, in December 2014.
On social media, Bell often shares snippets and insights into her daily life with cute snaps of her family - although the parents opt to keep their children’s faces private.
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However, in a recent interview, with Bustle, Bell has admitted that family life comes with its own pressures.
“It’s hard,” she shared. “Do not think because I am on your television that it is easy for me. It’s brutal. I cry weekly.”
She went on to say that she looked to parenting experts Dr. Becky and Lisa Damour, Ph.D. for advice on raising her kids and said she wanted to open up about the stresses of family life to make other people feel seen.
“Oftentimes when you’re in that cyclone of puberty, you could think, ‘My kid is the only one doing this’. And that is just simply not a fact,” she added.
Bell and Shepard have previously been very open about their unique parenting styles, admitting that they allow their kids to swear ‘when it’s called for’ and drink non-alcoholic drinks, with Bell saying: “I'm sort of like, you can judge me if you want, I'm not doing anything wrong. That's your problem."
But Bell has said that being so open with the media about her family has become more of a challenge as her kids get older and become more aware of what’s going on around them.
“For the good of the people, we should share our dirty stories, we should share our shame, we should share our hardships,” she said.
“But for the good of the one? My main job in life is to protect those two.
“I guess a conclusion we came to at a time in our parenting journey is, like, we can share all the cute things when they’re little, but when they could possibly be exposed to [media] or possibly have a feeling in response to it … well, now, the equation has changed.
“There’s someone else in the mix, and you have to have enough self-awareness and consideration to consider that person. And that person is my daughter, so she’s number one.”
Late last year on his Armchair Expert podcast, Shepard admitted that their daughters can feel a little ‘unruly’ and ‘seem to have no kind of respect’ but said it was part of his parenting style to ensure they’re able to stand up for themselves when they’re older.
“What I’m prioritizing … is when they’re 19 and their boss is a f**king creep, I want them to talk back,” he explained.
“I want them to be disrespectful. I want them to always advocate for themselves, whether I think they’re right or wrong.”
Topics: Celebrity, Parenting, Kristen Bell
Claire Reid