Dax Shepard Got So Real About Possibly Having A Sex Addiction In The Past

There's a reason why the world is in love with Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard's marriage, and it all boils down to the fact that this couple has always been open and honest about their lives. Sure, they're beyond talented and famous, but they prove that even celebrities face challenges in their lives, and makes the average human feel like they actually have something in common with their favorite A-list actors. And it's Dax Shepard's comments about possibly having a sex addiction in the past while speaking with Dr. Phil that will make you only respect this couple even more.

The 44-year-old Ranch actor candidly spoke with Dr. Phil for his podcast, Phil in the Blanks, which was released on Tuesday, Jan. 15. In the episode, Shepard opened up about his sexual history, and it's brutally honest.

"I’d say I’ve had what could maybe be called a sex addiction at some point in my life," Shepard revealed. "Not one that I had to seek treatment for but… there are worse addictions."

Shepard also admitted that before his relationship with his wife, Kristen Bell, he "would have just said, 'Oh, I have sex with a lot of people. I like to do it. It’s healthy. Who cares? I’m not getting diseases. I’m single. Whatever.'"

Shepard then tells Dr. Phil a story about getting into a fight with a past girlfriend and a moment of realization. He said,

I had a girlfriend. She was away. We got in a fight over the phone. I hung up the phone. I was driving in the car and I immediately got horny. Now that is a biochemical feeling. I’m getting a serotonin dump. Whatever I’m getting, that’s a physiological thing, horniness. So I’m just feeling authentically horny. And I think, 'Hmm, I’m going to text this girl I know,' and I text that girl and there was a delay.

He continued, saying, "And then I just had this moment of clarity. I was like, 'That's suspicious. I just felt disempowered by my girlfriend and immediately I got horny. Could my brain be, like, taking care of me?'"

Shepard said that he thought that his brain was making him feel aroused to numb any kind of feeling of pain, and Dr. Phil noted that, while that's a possibility, "for every thought you have, there's a physiological corollary" and that Shepard might not have been a sex addict, but rather it was just his body reacting to thoughts of his girlfriend.

"If you have a thought about someone you’re attracted to or you had a good experience or whatever, your body is going to respond," Dr. Phil explained. "You only have one arousal system, it’s just how you label it. You assign the meaning to it."

Admittedly, some of that goes a bit over my head, but I understand (for the most part) what Dr. Phil is getting at.

Bell has opened up about her husband's past addictions as well, and on Sept. 1, 2018, she took to Instagram to congratulate Dax Shepard on his 14 years of sobriety.

Part of her caption read, "I know how much you loved using. I know how much it got in your way. And I know, because I saw, how hard you worked to live without it. I will forever be in awe of your dedication, and the level of fierce moral inventory you perform on yourself, like an emotional surgery, every single night ... Happy 14th year sobriety birthday, @daxshepard."

A big thanks to the happy couple for their unwavering honesty. We only love you more because of it.