In Monday's episode The Drew Barrymore Show, Parenthood Star Dax Shepherd has spoken candidly about the headline-making rumours that he and his wife Kristen Bell are swingers.
“The most exciting tabloid story was that we were Hollywood swingers and we were having swing parties,” Shepherd told Barrymore, who revealed that some of her celebrity friends, including Jimmy Kimmel, had even reached out to her to see if the news was true.
“The best part about it for me was getting a lot of messages from other friends saying, 'How come you didn't invite me to the swinger party?'” CHIPS said the star.
Shepherd later recalled a funny text message she received from Kimmel. Kimmel was annoyed that he and his wife hadn't received a call. “I thought it was great to get a text from Kimmel saying, 'Molly and I really hurt my feelings that we didn't get invited to this swinger party.'”
Surprisingly, the rumors seem to have started with Shepherd herself. During a stop on Conan O'Brien's TBS talk show in 2016, the actor suggested that he and the host swap partners for the evening. A few months later, while Bell was on the show, O'Brien took the opportunity to ask her if she had seen her husband's indecent proposal.
“That sounds like my husband,” Bell replied. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings, but you’re not the first person he’s tried to hook up with,” she told O’Brien. “He loves people. He loves the human nature, and he’s constantly suggesting that we ‘hang out’ and ‘really get to know each other’ at different dinners,” Bell explained. “We’re not really hanging out with anyone.”
The couple confirmed this together in a 2023 episode of Shepherd's Seat Expert podcast. “Because you often make key party jokes,” Bell told her husband. “We'll have a dinner party or something, and as we sit down, you'll say, 'Everybody put your keys away. '”
Shepherd acknowledged this, admitting that she’s made the same joke to “most of the guests” on her podcast. “I noticed some of them later said, ‘Oh, we don’t have the same sense of humor,’” she said. “And I said, ‘Hey, if you ever come to L.A. and you want to swing,’” she said.
But despite all the talk, Shepherd insisted to Barrymore that she and Bell had a special relationship. “There are a lot of hot couples out there,” she said, “but no, we didn't cross that line with anyone.”