How Did the Kristen Bell Sloth Saga Begin?

It’s been seven years since Kristen Bell met her first sloth, and we can still remember her unmatched level of enthusiasm. Sure, up until her then-boyfriend and now-husband, Dax Shepard, surprised the 39-year-old with a sloth for her birthday, Bell had been a fan of the notoriously slow creatures. But it wasn’t until she was near one in the flesh that she realized just how much she loved them. Here, a complete history the Kirsten Bell/sloth meet-cute.

In honor of Bell’s 31st birthday, Shepard procured a sloth to surprise her with. On the day of her birthday party, he told her that her present had arrived and told her to go to the back room so he could bring it to her. Even though she was given no clues about what the gift might be, she sensed “there is a sloth here” and immediately started sobbing (from excitement). Lucky for us, Shepard filmed the entire thing and Bell later shared it on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Ever the prankster, DeGeneres told Bell there was a sloth in the studio that day and she had a similar meltdown.

Two years later, Shepard visited Ellen and explained that getting a sloth for Bell to meet was way harder than he expected. For one, they’re only available in certain countries and any company that loans them out are very particular about what type of homeowner’s insurance potential sloth friends have. Eventually, he found someone who would bring a sloth to their home and a sloth habitat was set up in their living room.