Dax Shepard Recalls Pursuing Kate Hudson While She Was Married
The actor recently opened up about his past relationship with Kate Hudson and the dynamics that eventually led to their 2007 breakup.
Dax Shepard recently reflected on his past romance with Kate Hudson, detailing how he first pursued the actress while she was still married to musician Chris Robinson. Speaking on a recent episode of his podcast Armchair Expert alongside guests Sara and Erin Foster, Shepard recalled meeting Hudson at a poker game hosted by her brother, Oliver Hudson. At the time, Shepard decided to put his best foot forward despite knowing her marital status.
"I gave her 111% of any charm I have, right?" Shepard said during the broadcast. He noted that he had become an admirer of hers after watching the film Almost Famous and initially struggled to believe he was interacting with her. Although he left the card game expecting nothing to come of it, a subsequent dinner invitation in Malibu brought them back together.
By the time of the Malibu dinner, Hudson and Robinson had announced their separation. With Hudson officially single, Shepard decided to pursue a relationship, and the two quickly began spending nearly every day together. Friends recalled that the romance escalated at a rapid pace, characterized by frequent outings and constant bonding.
Dating Hudson also exposed Shepard to an unfamiliar Hollywood social circle. Having grown up in the Detroit area, he felt like an outsider among people whose personal and professional lives had long intertwined within the entertainment industry, specifically noting her lifelong connections to family members like Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. However, acquaintances at the time remembered him as an approachable partner who treated Hudson without overly cautious kid gloves.
The couple ultimately dated for about three months in 2007 before parting ways. Years prior, during a 2019 appearance on the same podcast, Hudson and Shepard discussed the underlying reasons for their split. Both acknowledged that they genuinely enjoyed each other's company and shared plenty of laughter, but they ultimately realized they were at very different stages in their personal and professional lives.
During that 2019 discussion, Shepard admitted that his own career insecurities played a role in the breakup. He worried about his professional trajectory as several film projects stalled, while Hudson was simultaneously earning more and landing prominent roles he desired for himself. Accompanying her on sets heightened those internal frustrations.
Hudson also shouldered responsibility for the end of the romance, admitting that she was not providing Shepard with what he needed at the time. "Honestly, I wasn't giving Dax what he needed and I was making choices that were not relationship-focused," she explained during the episode. In the years since their brief relationship, both have moved forward, with Shepard marrying actress Kristen Bell in 2013 and Hudson becoming engaged to musician Danny Fujikawa in 2021.