Celebrity5 min(s) read
Truth about Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's 'three-way marriage'
Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have never pretended their marriage fits the traditional Hollywood mold.
The couple — who have been together since 2007 — have built a reputation for radical honesty about their relationship, openly discussing therapy, arguments, and personal struggles.
But while their candid approach has earned praise from some fans, it has also sparked plenty of controversy over the years.
Recently, the spotlight has turned not only on Bell, 45, and Shepard, 51, but also on a third person who has become deeply intertwined in their lives: Monica Padman.
Monica Padman: From Nanny To Podcast Powerhouse
Padman’s journey into the couple’s inner circle began in 2011.
Originally from Georgia, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career and took various jobs to support herself, including working the front desk at SoulCycle, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Eventually, she began babysitting for Bell and Shepard, who later welcomed their daughters Lincoln, now 12, and Delta, 10, in 2013 and 2014.
Over time, Padman transitioned from occasional babysitter to the family’s full-time nanny.
Later, when the children started school, she began working as Bell’s personal assistant and even served as her speech writer.
Reflecting on that period, Padman described how she gradually became part of the family.
“I would come every morning. And it was really all hands on deck, whoever was there,” Padman said in a 2024 interview.
“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.
“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.”
The Birth Of A Podcast Empire
The dynamic shifted dramatically when Shepard decided to launch a podcast.
Padman initially offered to help him get the project off the ground — but Shepard had a bigger idea: inviting her to co-host.
The first episode of Armchair Expert aired in 2018, with Bell serving as their very first guest.
During the recording, Shepard even admitted the couple had been “bickering” and “being impatient with each other” throughout the interview.
At one point, Shepard mocked Bell 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 it signed an exclusive distribution deal with Wondery reportedly worth $80 million.
A Friendship That’s Almost Like A Marriage
As the podcast grew, so did Padman’s presence in Bell and Shepard’s personal life.
She eventually moved just down the street from the couple in the trendy Los Angeles neighborhood of Los Feliz.
In December 2019, Padman purchased a four-bedroom, three-bathroom Spanish-style home in the gated Laughlin Park community for $2.6 million — just a three-minute walk from Bell and Shepard’s property.
The couple had bought their own 4,050-square-foot home on the same street two years earlier in 2017 for $4.3 million.
Padman’s closeness to the pair has become so well-known that Shepard once joked about it publicly.
During a 2021 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the Armchair Expert co-hosts leaned into the running gag.
When asked by Jimmy Kimmel if she was “the third wheel in Dax and Kristen's tricycle of love,” Padman replied: “Well, we were in a three-way marriage.”
As Kimmel pushed further to ask if anything sexual was involved in the arrangement, Shepard joked: “Unfortunately not. It's all the responsibilities of two wives without the sex!”
Friends Worry Padman Is Too Involved
Behind the jokes, however, some insiders say Padman’s deep involvement in the couple’s lives has raised concerns among her friends.
“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, per the Daily Mail.
“She’s made herself invaluable to them, and the kids love her.”
According to the source, Padman’s professional relationship with Shepard differs from her more personal bond with Bell.
“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,” the source said.
But the closeness has reportedly sparked worry.
“[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 is often nearby when tensions flare between Bell and Shepard.
“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 insider said. "Kristen has made it perfectly clear to Monica that she and Dax need their alone time and she gets it.”