*The following article contains discussion of suicide/self-harm.
A video of actor Dax Shepard getting emotional during a recent episode of his Armchair Expert podcast has gone viral.
In the latest episode, Shepard and his podcast co-host Monica Padman interviewed former Disney Channel star Dove Cameron, and the discussion landed on the topic of Cameron's tattoo, which left Shepard unable to hold back tears.
"You did make me cry today seeing the tattoo you got," said the actor before getting choked up.
"I have little girls, and I say that same thing to them all the time," he said, referring to the sentimental phrase tattooed on Cameron's arm, which had not been revealed to viewers at this point in the video.
Shepard has two daughters, Lincoln, 11, and Delta, 10, with his wife, actor Kristin Bell.
Cameron was so moved by his affection for his girls, she was prompted to respond, "Oh my God, you're gonna make me cry. That's so beautiful."
As both of them were wiping tears, Shepard continued expressing, "If they had to tattoo that on them at some point because something went sideways, you know? It is just heartbreaking."
Here's a clip.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
When Padman asked Cameron if she wouldn't mind sharing what the tattoo in question was, she happily replied:
"It says, 'We'll be friends forever.' Which is just like the sweetest…"
This made Shepard cry again, followed by laughter at his vulnerable state.
He added:
"Oh my god. I say that to them every day on the way to school."
"I'm like, 'You know we're going to be best friends for the rest of your—my life... 'We're best friends from this day until the end."
Cameron was 15 and at the height of her popularity as the star of Disney Channel's Liv and Maddie when her father took his own life in 2011.
She honored him by legally changing her name to "Dove," which was his nickname for her. "I didn't get to say goodbye, so I changed it in honor of him," she told Teen Vogue in September 2017.
Moved by Shepard's reaction to the poignant phrase about strong family bonds, Cameron said:
"That's what it should be, right? I'm so moved to hear you say that about your girls, because I truly was best friends with my dad. He tried his best."
Social media users grabbed tissues from watching the interaction.
People related to this and were feeling all the feels.
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In 2016, Cameron penned a heartfelt message on Instagram to her late father, five years after his death.
"To the most beautiful man I have ever known, and my best friend," Cameron wrote.
She continued in part:
"Yesterday marks 5 years since you've left us, and I still feel you all around me every day, all the time. I feel as though I understand you more and more as I begin to understand myself in these formative years, and although it can't ever replace the years I've lost with you, I know I am never without you because you are in me."
The podcast episode served as a reminder for us all to hug our loved ones and express how much they mean to us while we can.
They're luxuries we don't know we have until they're gone.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988.
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
