Dax Shepard told his kids that Santa Claus is 'pretend'

Dax Shepard attends a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game on April 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)
Dax Shepard attends a Los Angeles Lakers basketball game on April 7, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

Santa Claus is probably struggling over whether to put a lump of coal — well, at least a small one — in Dax Shepard‘s stocking this holiday.

The actor and Armchair Expert podcast host, who’s married to The Good Place star and newly named Golden Globe nominee Kristen Bell, is endlessly giving to good causes. However, he did something that the big guy certainly won’t like.

“This is going to be very controversial,” Shepard told Us Weekly on Monday at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, on yet another charitable outing. “I have a fundamental rule that I will never lie to [daughters Lincoln, 5, and Delta, who turns 4 on Dec. 19], which is challenging at times. Our 5-year-old started asking questions like, ‘Well, this doesn’t make sense, and that doesn’t make sense.’ I’m like, ‘You know what? This is just a fun thing we pretend while it’s Christmas.'”

Yep, he said it. But it’s not like the Shepard-Bell home is completely devoid of any Kris Kringle joy. In fact it sounds downright merry.

Dax Shepard, left, and wife Kristen Bell attend the premiere of her movie <em>A Bad Moms Christmas</em> on Oct. 30, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo: Barry King/Getty Images)
Dax Shepard, left, and wife Kristen Bell attend the premiere of her movie A Bad Moms Christmas on Oct. 30, 2017, in Los Angeles. (Photo: Barry King/Getty Images)

“They love watching movies about Santa, they love talking about Santa,” Shepard added. “They don’t think he exists, but they’re super happy and everything’s fine.”

The relationship between Shepard and Santa is another story.

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