Dax Shepard spoke out about his 'three-way marriage' and the other woman in his life as well as wife Kristen Bell

Dax Shepard has opened up about what he jokingly describes as a “three-way marriage,” revealing the other woman who plays a major role in his life alongside his wife, Kristen Bell.

The 51-year-old actor spoke about the unusual dynamic between himself, his wife, and Monica Padman, his co-host on the wildly popular Armchair Expert podcast, during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.

During the interview, Kimmel asked Padman if she was “the third wheel in Dax and Kristen's tricycle of love,” and she responded: “Well, we were in a three-way marriage."

The moment quickly turned even more humorous when the 58-year-old host pressed Shepard about whether anything romantic was involved in the arrangement.

“Unfortunately not,” Shepard joked. “It’s all the responsibilities of two wives without the sex!”

“…Yet,” Padman coyly added.

The 38-year-old's connection to the couple dates back more than a decade. Originally from Georgia, she moved to Los Angeles in 2011, hoping to pursue an acting career.

To support herself, she took a variety of jobs, including working the front desk at SoulCycle, before eventually entering Bell and Shepard’s world by babysitting their daughters, Lincoln, now 12, and Delta, 10, in 2013 and 2014, Daily Mail reported.

Later, once the children began attending school, Padman transitioned into working as the Good Place actress's personal assistant and even served as her speech writer.

Reflecting on how she gradually became part of their household, she previously said: “I would come every morning. And it was really all hands on deck, whoever was there.

"It was a village mentality, which was nice because it didn't feel stressful. It wasn't like, 'You have to do this and then this.' It was very loose," she continued.

“I would be there all day. And at night, sometimes I would go home, but sometimes I wouldn't… I just became a part of that family. They let me be a part of that family. It was really special," she added.

Padman’s role in the couple’s lives grew even further when Shepard decided to launch his podcast, Armchair Expert, in 2018.

The CHiPs actress initially offered to help him get the project off the ground, but the Hit and Run actor ultimately invited her to become his co-host instead.

The first episode featured Bell as the podcast’s very first guest. During the interview, Shepard admitted that he and the Frozen star had been “bickering” and “being impatient with each other” while recording.

At one point, he mocked his wife by doing a petty impression of her nagging him, prompting the actress to call him “annoying” and accuse him of “talking over” her. The podcast quickly exploded in popularity.

Today, Armchair Expert attracts an estimated 20 million monthly listeners, and in 2024, the show signed an exclusive distribution deal with Wondery, reportedly worth $80 million.

As the podcast’s success grew, so did Padman’s presence in Shepard and Bell’s everyday lives. In December 2019, she purchased a home just a three-minute walk from the property that Bell and Shepard bought in 2017.

Living Together During The Pandemic

The couple's closeness with Padman became even more apparent during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Padman actually lived with Bell, Shepard, and their two daughters while they worked together on the podcast, but the arrangement didn’t last forever as the 38-year-old later revealed that she decided to move out after the household dynamic became overwhelming.

"It hit critical mass a month in because Kristen ‘got Covid,'" she joked while using air quotes. "We thought. So, she was in her room quarantining on her own.

"At the same time, Dax broke his hand - couldn't make food, couldn't help with anything," she told Kimmel. Dax added, "I had rods coming out of my fingers.

"And then I was there like, ‘Oh, I have to take care of all of these children while they're [Dax and Kristen] on vacation.' Okay… Bye!" she added.

Shepard recalled the moment she packed up and left. “It was abrupt. She just, like, entered the living room and she had all of her belongings,” he said.

Concerns About The Trio's Closeness

While the podcast hosts often treat their unusual bond as a joke, some insiders claim not everyone around them finds the dynamic so amusing.

“Monica is not only heavily involved in Dax's podcast, but also sometimes like the third wheel in his marriage to Kristen,” an insider said. “She’s made herself invaluable to them, and the kids love her.”

According to the source, Padman shares different types of relationships with each half of the couple.

“Monica is closer to Dax than she is to Kristen on a professional level. However, on a personal level, she and Kristen share girl talk. They seem to be much of her life right now,” they said.

Still, the closeness has reportedly sparked concern among some of Padman’s friends. “[Her friends] don't think the relationship between the three of them is a healthy one” because they believe she is “too involved” in the couple's life, the insider said.

Living just minutes away means Padman sometimes finds herself caught in the middle when tensions arise between the Hollywood couple.

“Monica doesn't like to be in the middle of their feuds, but sometimes manages to get drawn in. She tries not to take sides,” the source claimed. "Kristen has made it perfectly clear to Monica that she and Dax need their alone time, and she gets it.”

Featured image credit: Rodin Eckenroth / Getty