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has become a loaded question during the worst global pandemic in a century.
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Top by Nanushka. Earrings by Le Vian.
HowisBell, actor, producer, and the somewhat rare not-annoying mom influencer/purveyor of CBD skin-care?
Bell acknowledges she had the privilege of sheltering in a luxurious space.
I say to [my kids] all the time, Im not saying you cant complain.
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Top by Maryam Nassir Zadeh. Top on top of other top by Jacquemus. Jeans by Millers Room Vintage. Tights by Gucci. Earrings by Le Vian + DRU.
You have a swimming pool in your backyard.
Bells anxiety and depression came in waves during the long, dark valley of COVID-19.
I have trouble distinguishing between my emotions and someone elses emotions, and thats not a compliment to myself.
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Top by Nanushka. Earrings by Le Vian. Rings by Walters Faith and Melinda Maria.
Thats a very dangerous thing to toy with, she explains.
Bell remembers him saying.
Bell had an understandable response: How dare you?
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Top by Gucci. Earrings by Le Vian.
But also, Youre right.
So she gave blood to the UCLA Blood & Platelet Center and made a donation to No Kid Hungry.
Why do I feel terrible and exhausted every day?
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Denim suit by Stella McCartney. Tank by Hanes.
she asked herself then.
It was just a generalized dark cloud over me.
I felt like my real personality was in a tiny cage inside my body.
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group.
(Bell has spoken about taking daily SSRI medications.)
She says exercising helps keep her patient and happy.
Today I finally got back on the treadmill, figuratively and literally.
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Top by Nanushka. Tights by Falke. Shoes by Far. Earrings by Le Vian.
And Im proud, she wrote.
To anyone whos been feeling the same, you’re free to do it.
Often that means telling herself, Get your ass up and go walk around the block.
Pat Martin. Wardrobe Styling by Kat Typaldos. Makeup by Simone Siegl at A-Frame. Hair by Matthew Collins at The Wall Group. On Kristen: Top by Millers Room Vintage. Skirt and socks by Acne. Shoes by Jimmy Choo. Earrings by Grace Lee. Rings by Le Vian and Grace Lee.
Bell also employs the grand-millennial coping tactics of knitting and puzzling.
Bell comes off like a natural sharer.
She is a woman who once divulged onThe Talkthat her kids walked in on her and Shepard having sex.
Shepards gassiness also comes up in the course of our Zoom session.
She could just let fans and followers believe the sprightly, superficial version of her.
You do, though, Bell disagrees.
Sometimes, Bell admits, I still have this desire, this knee-jerk, to present perfection.
Enter Shepard, who consistently checks her, asking: Are you being honest?
Are you telling the whole story?
I have to wonder if this Sandy OlssonDanny Zuko narrative lacks nuance.
Bell laughs and tells me its not entirely wrong.
Shepard elevates vulnerability to an obsessive level.
You cannot pick them up and put them down.
Are you loving this puzzle through line?"
Bell and Shepard reentered couples therapy just before the pandemic hit.
My husband and I, we were just at each others throats, she remembers.
Its so obvious now, that every two years, you have to go back.
Thanks to that refresh, Bell and Shepard didnt kill each other in the beginning.
We realized, Okay, our math wasnt working, Bell says.
I mean, he admitted it so quickly.
It was like, I did something that I dont want to do.
Im going down a bad road.
Shepard subsequently gave Bell full…controls not the right word, she says.
Fullprivilege,maybe, to call him on anything.
Im going to buy some tests.
Im going to have them in the house.
Her response: Maybe, some day.
Hes just good at trying, and thats all you’re free to ask of anyone.
No ones perfect, she adds.
He’s proven to me that he is committed to evolving and he loves personal growth.
As shetold Ellen DeGeneresof Shepards relapse last October: Everybodys up against their own demons.
Sometimes its anxiety and depression, sometimes its substance abuse.
The pandemic dealt a blow to many couples sex lives, but Bell and Shepard arent among them.
They still regularly schedule sex: There are some times when its in the calendar.
The beautiful thing about him is he finds the comedy in everything.
Do you want to be on the porch with someone when youre 80?
We both want that.
And so they dont just share openly with the world, but with each other, too.
I have to acknowledge were monkeys.
Instead they call the game Full-man.
When Bell first met Shepard, thePunkdstar said he outearned her.
Now Bell outearns him.
Can I tell you something?
Bell says, dropping into sotto voce.
I think Ive always outearned him.
He can get over it.
Im like, This is ours.
Bell backpedals a smidge.
As Bell sums up her career: I have had a shit ton of opportunity.
Ive also worked my ass off.
So deep that the so-called Marshmallows crowdfunded the $5.7 million budget for the 2014 film adaptation.
She maintains shed play Veronica forever.
I never want to say her journeys over.
If people are really like, We want Veronica back, then, great, Ill totally do it.
But thats going to have to come from them, and we will patiently wait, biting our nails.
Even so, evolving the fictional world of Neptune, California, has already posed creative challenges.
Im still proud of the way that we did it.
I thought we matured it.
Same thing withFrozen II.
Im a loyal friend.
Its silly, but it is true.
I have a sincere respect for the things that helped me get where I am, she says.
I could have said no, but the reality is, its a pretty easy job.
Ive been very lucky that Ive never been treated with immense disrespect, she says.
We dont call itbossyanymore, but Im pretty bossy, she says.
Im a very active presence on set.
Im all up in the directors grill: What are we getting?
Can I see the shot?
Bell is an executive producer onThe Woman in the House,as she was onVeronica Marsand others.
Just as exercise and puzzling helped her cope, Bells sparkly canon helped people through the darkest of times.
Hearing that, she said, made my heart grow 10 sizes.
