Kristen Bell opens up about reality of relationships amid controversial Dax Shepard anniversary post

Kristen Bell has discussed the reality of her relationship with Dax Shepard and what's difficult about it.

The Frozen star has been married to Shepard for over a decade and the celebrity pair share two daughters.

They recently celebrated their 12th wedding anniversary, but Bell's tribute to her husband raised eyebrows.

Posting a photo of them sharing a hug, she penned: "Happy 12th wedding anniversary to the man who once said to me: 'I would never kill you. A lot of men have killed their wives at a certain point. Even though I’m heavily incentivized to kill you, I never would.'"

While said in jest, the post sparked backlash and was branded as 'tone deaf' by some.

"What a wild thing to post during Domestic Violence Awareness month," one critic commented on the post.

Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell have been married for 12 years (Randy Shropshire/Getty Images for MPTF)

Someone else branded it as 'horrifically insensitive'. Not everyone took offense though and understood that it was just Bell and Shepard's kind of humor.

UNILAD approached their reps for comment at the time.

Bell also missed a scheduled TV appearance days later, though the reason for her absence is yet to be revealed.

In the wake of the backlash, PEOPLE released an interview with The Good Place actress, who revealed that she and her husband are very different from one another.

Noting her Nobody Wants This character Joanne's early relationship woes with her new beau Noah (played by Adam Brody), Bell said that this is something she can relate to personally.

"Having someone I feel that is very opposite from me is certainly something that I feel. I feel like my real-life husband and I are 'opposites attract,'" she said, adding: "But that doesn't mean we couldn't make it work, or didn't want to make it work."

Bell described her and her husband as being 'opposites attract' (Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TIME)

Bell went on to say of her relationship with Shepard: "It just meant we did have to have a lot of patience for each other to figure out what the compromises would be, and a general understanding that we're probably going to have different viewpoints on almost everything - and figure out a respectful way to have those discussions."

She also addressed the idea of Shepard starring on Nobody Wants This like Brody's wife, Leighton Meester, does in season two (which landed on Netflix yesterday, October 23).

Bell mused: "I would of course want him to come on the show. He would never do it - he's kind of retired from acting.

"Maybe he'll go back one day, but he loves podcasting and he's not starved for opportunities."

Shepard has a podcast called Armchair Expert and recently had Jennifer Aniston on as a guest.