Why Kristen Bell Loves 'Talking S---' About Husband Dax Shepard During Therapy

Kristen Bell opened up to Chelsea Handler about how she and her husband Dax Shepard "make it work" ... with the help of a lot of therapy.

Appearing on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" with Handler as a guest host, the "Frozen" actress was asked how she and her husband find time to work on their issues with such busy schedules. According to Bell, it's not just joint couples therapy that keep their relationship strong during the pandemic, but solo sessions as well.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, we were at each other's throats. And then all the doors locked in our house, like, we had to stay inside, and we were like, 'Woof. We need to get a handle on the annoyances,'" she explained, before giving props to their therapist, a man named Harry.

"Harry suggested that since we were both so annoyed with each other -- because the reality is, if you're living with one human being, I don't care if it's your partner, your husband, your wife, whoever it is, you need to brush up on your toolbox because you will find that person annoying, relationships take work," she continued. "He suggested we go to therapy separately kind of so that we could talk s--- about each other."

So they did.

"And it's been great," Bell explained with a laugh. "Currently, right now, what we've been doing the last couple of months is every two weeks or so, I'll see Harry via Zoom and complain about Dax, and then he'll give me all the reasons why I'm wrong and then Dax will do the same. And then, by the time we meet up in the evening, we love each other again because our tool boxes are bigger."

Bell went on to praise the idea of having a "third party moderating any disagreement," adding that "defense mechanisms and cortisol" can always "mess up" a one-on-one conversation.

During the interview, Bell was also asked who the "alpha" in the house is when it comes to the couple's two daughters, Lincoln, 8, and Delta, 6.

"It depends. We both make the rules and we do a good job of passing off the power, but I definitely am more of the pushover," Bell revealed. "I try to make rules but I'm also a big fan of 'Make a better argument.' If you make a really good argument of why you should have a cupcake before bed, 'Okay.'"

She joked that the problem with that approach is both daughters are "little prosecutors" and often get what they want. Dax, she added, is "more of a rule maker."

Bell and Shepard have been open about therapy being the secret to the success of their marriage for years now.

"We have a very healthy marriage and we got there by doing therapy when we needed it, and constantly doing fierce moral inventories," she revealed back in 2017. "We both take responsibility when we are wrong, and I think it is easy to work with him because I married him, because I enjoy spending time with him and I trust him."

See more stars whose relationships were strengthened via therapy below.