is setting the record straight about the speculation that he and his wife, , are swingers.
“There was the most exciting tabloid story that we were Hollywood swingers and we hosted swing parties,” Shepard, 49, said on the Monday, September 9, episode of The Drew Barrymore Show.
Shepard joked that his “favorite part” about the rumors was fielding texts from famous pals.
“We got a lot of texts from other friends of ours saying, ‘How could you not have invited me to the swinger party?’” he quipped. “I mean, they were teasing, of course, because they know us and they know we’re not hosting swinger parties.”
One of the pals who reached out to Shepard was none other than — who joked that he wanted to be invited to a party with his wife, .
“To receive a text from Kimmel saying, ‘My feelings are quite hurt that Molly and I weren’t invited to the swingers party,’ was very funny,” Shepard said.
When host asked whether Shepard and Bell, 44, “fantasize” about any celeb pairings, he joked, “Well, there’s a lot of hot couples out there, but no, we have not crossed that divide with anyone.”
Shepard explained that he and Bell are “most in love” with and his wife, .
“They’re so dreamy as a couple. You just kind of wanna be in their marriage. It’s not so much that Kristen even wants to bring me along or I wanna bring her along. You just kind of wanna be in their marriage,” he said, while Barrymore, 49, agreed “they’re couple goals for sure.”
Shepard and Bell previously reacted to the rumors during an episode of his “Armchair Expert” podcast in August 2023. Bell, for her part, alleged that she knows “exactly” how the speculation began.
“It’s because you frequently make key party jokes,” she explained. “We’ll have a dinner party or something, and as we’re sitting down, you’ll say, ‘Everybody leave your keys.’”
Shepard admitted that he had made similar quips to “many of the guests” who’ve appeared on his podcast. “Some of them, I realize afterwards, ‘Oh, we do not have the same sense of humor,’” he said. “I was like, ‘Hey, if you guys are ever in L.A. and you wanna swing.’”
Shepard and Bell got engaged in 2009 and tied the knot in 2013. They welcomed daughters Lincoln and Delta, in 2013 and 2014, respectively.
