Kristen Bell Talks Couples Counseling, Being Pro-Vaccination in Good Housekeeping, Says Therapy Isn't Embarrassing

"There are the weak among us whom we have to protect," she says

From where we're standing, it looks like Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard have the perfect marriage and family. But like everyone else, the couple constantly works on their marriage in order to make life better for themselves and their two daughters, Lincoln and Delta.

The Veronica Mars star opens up about her marriage, her family and her staunch advocacy for vaccination in the May issue of Good Housekeeping where she explains how having children changed everything about her life. The actress admits that at first she didn't know if she actually wanted to have children.

"Before we had the girls, I asked a few people in my life who are annoyingly blunt and honest on every level if we should, knowing that if it wasn't worth it, they'd have the balls to say, 'Listen, don't. Live your life.' But across the board, everyone said it was unmissable," she says. But after giving birth to her first daughter, Lincoln, she realized it was the best decision.

"Having kids feels like that first seventh-grade crush that overwhelms every molecule in your body, but it's permanent," she explains.

That permanency has only strengthened her marriage, as has the couples counseling sessions she and Dax frequent. Unafraid to admit they need a little help from time to time, Bell says, "I don't mind advertising a healthy marriage. I'm trying, just like everyone else."

"You do better in the gym with a trainer; you don't figure out how to cook without reading a recipe," she adds. "Therapy is not something to be embarrassed about."

In addition to protecting her marriage, which she says has "taken a turn" since having children, she also wants to look out for her children in every way possible, which means becoming a staunch advocate for vaccination. But, she admits, prior to having kids she thought she would have been anti-vaccination.

"Kids with autoimmune diseases, kids who are receiving cancer treatments—they can't be vaccinated because their immune systems [can't handle it]," she says. "If your kid has leukemia, he can't get vaccinations; if he then goes to school with my kid and I chose not to give my kid vaccinations, I'm putting your kid at risk."

She adds, "To me, that's unacceptable. There are the weak among us whom we have to protect. As moms, our responsibility is not just to our kids—it's to all the other kids, too."