Dax Shepard Reflects on Brief Romance With Jessica Alba

Dax Shepard is happy to report that Jessica Alba hasn’t forgotten about their past fling.

“I’ll speak for myself. I’m at the age where anyone who will own up to having dated me, I’m kind of like, very proud of that,” Shepard, 51, shared on the Monday, March 9, episode of the “Armchair Expert” podcast. “I can give you an example.”

Long before becoming a podcast host, Shepard said that he had the opportunity to go on “a couple of dates” with Alba, 44.

“I want to be clear. We were not dating, dating,” he shared with guest Amanda Peet. “But Jessica Alba, a long time ago, 20-something years ago.”

In 2017, the pair reunited to star in the Netflix dark comedy thriller El Camino Christmas. When the project first started, Shepard was convinced that Alba didn’t want anyone to know about their dating past.

“We’re in the makeup trailer, and I’m thinking, ‘Oh yah, she doesn’t want anyone in here to know this’ because that’s where my self esteem is,” he said with a laugh. “And then, she yelled across from the other end, ‘Remember when we used to make out.’ I was so flattered that she wasn’t embarrassed she had made out with me.”

Shepard went on to date Kristen Bell in 2007 and the pair have been together ever since. They officially tied the knot in October 2013 and have two daughters, Lincoln, 12, and Delta, 11.

“I do 45 days or multiple years,” Shepard joked about his dating past. “I’m either 90 days or I’m many, many years. I don’t have a bunch of one-year relationships. … There was another costar, very short-lived, it was a five-month deal and that was around 1999. I can’t remember from what movie.”

As for Alba, she was married to Pair of Thieves cofounder Cash Warren for 16 years before their divorce was finalized in February 2026. The couple share Honor, 17, Haven, 14, and Hayes, 8. (Alba is currently dating actor Danny Ramirez.)

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During his latest podcast episode, Shepard got Peet, 54, to admit that she briefly dated Ben Stiller for a moment.

While the actress initially expressed surprise that the Internet — and Shepard — was aware of the past fling from many years ago, Peet had no problems owning up to her dating history

“I’m proud that he picked me for a second,” Peet — who has been married to David Benioff since 2006 — joked after Shepard shared his story with Alba.