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Kristen Bell reveals how Dax Shepard accidentally flirted with her mom

Oops! Turns out, the actor sent his mother-in-law *that* emoji.
Image: Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard
Kristen Bell told Ellen DeGeneres a hilarious story of how husband Dax Shepard flirted with her own mother by mistake.Cindy Ord/Getty Images
/ Source: TODAY

It doesn’t take much to mess up the flow of text messages. A period after a one-word response can appear curt. A sign-off can make the sender seem out of touch.

And a trio of eggplant emoji? Well, the sexually suggestive shorthand can come across as really inappropriate — especially when sent to a family member.

That’s a lesson Kristen Bell’s husband, Dax Shepard, recently learned.

The “Good Place” star visited “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” Tuesday and shared a story that started out innocently enough, with her mother reaching out to her hubby before arriving in Los Angeles.

“She was coming in town, and sends him a text, like, ‘Be there by 11,’ then sends something else that says, ‘Can’t wait to see you tonight,’” Bell recalled. “And he meant to respond, ‘(smiley face / smiley face / smiley face).’”

Alas, he hit the wrong emoji — all three times.

“Instead he responds, ‘(eggplant / eggplant / eggplant),” Bell continued through laughter. “And when he did it, he went, ‘Oh, no! I made a huge mistake!’”

That’s when he flashed her the phone and shared his shame.

“The minute you involve an eggplant emoji, the whole story changes,” she noted of everyone’s favorite evocative veggie. “Because now it reads, ‘I’ll be there at 11. Can’t wait to see you tonight.’”

Only this time, she delivered those lines in a decidedly seductive voice.

But in the end, Shepard’s panic and Bell’s concerns about familial awkwardness weren’t necessary, because mom didn’t know her smileys from eggplants — or probably even her peaches.

Or, as Bell put it, “Thankfully, she didn’t know what an eggplant emoji was.”