Dax Shepard Explains the Surprising Reason He Offered to Freeze His 11-Year-Old Daughter’s Eggs

Dax Shepard is once again sharing honest moments from his life as a dad, this time involving a surprising conversation with his youngest daughter.

On a recent episode of his Armchair Expert podcast, Shepard talked about how his 11-year-old daughter Delta has already been thinking seriously about adulthood. Delta, whom he shares with his wife Kristen Bell, recently told him she wants to become a mother someday. Shepard said the comment caught his attention and led to a longer talk about the future.

According to Shepard, Delta openly talked about how excited she feels about having a baby one day. He said his main goal in that moment was to listen and not shut her down. “Delta was saying how she can’t wait to have a baby,” Shepard shared on the podcast.

“I said, ‘When do you think you’ll have your first child, when you turn 18?’ I want to be supportive of whatever. I don’t want to plant any seeds that I’d be judgmental or whatever.”

Shepard also spoke about Delta’s personality and how caring she already is. He joked that family trips often revolve around her stuffed animals. “For people who don’t know, our life is a traveling circus of Delty’s stuffies. The bulk of our luggage as a family are her stuffies,” he said. He added that he believes she would be a great mom later in life.

When the conversation turned to timing, Delta made it clear she did not want to have a child at 18. Shepard said that based on how life often goes, he imagined she might wait until much later, possibly her late 30s or even 40s. That’s when he brought up a topic that surprised many listeners.

“I said, ‘If you want to, we’ll freeze your eggs when you’re 18. I’ll pay for you to get your eggs frozen so you don’t have to think about that,’” Shepard explained. He quickly pointed out that he knows this option comes from a place of privilege. “Acknowledging all luck and privilege, obviously, this isn’t an option for most people.”

Delta, however, did not agree with her dad’s idea of waiting that long. Shepard said she felt her mid-20s would be the right time to start a family. Both Shepard and his co-host Monica Padman felt she might not yet understand how much freedom and fun people often have at that age. “Again, she’s 11 so that probably seems like 80,” Shepard said. “It won’t be time for her to be in the house every night with a child.”

This open conversation fits with how Shepard and Bell usually talk about parenting. Shepard often discusses raising their two daughters, including 12-year-old Lincoln, on his podcast. He has never hidden that some parts of their future make him nervous.

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