"He is actually doing really great,` Bell told DeGeneres. `I mean, look, everybody is up against their own demons. Sometimes it's anxiety and depression,` which Bell suffers from. `Sometimes it's substance abuse.`
Bell explained that they have a plan for administering medication to Shepard for his chronic pain from various motorcycle injuries, which he spoke about at length with his Armchair Expert podcast co-host Monica Padman when he revealed he relapsed on Sept. 25.
`If he has to take medication for any reason, I have to administer it,` Bell said of their conversation when Shepard admitted to the relapse. `He was like: 'So we need a stronger plan. I was faltering. I have to do some emotional work to figure out why I wanted to use again.'`
Bell, who has two daughters with Shepard, went on to say, `One of the main reasons I love him is he's also addicted to growth. He's addicted to evolving. And he was like: 'I don't want to risk this family - and I did - so let's put new things in place to make sure it doesn't happen again.'`
