Gwen Stefani shared some insight into how her relationship with her husband, Blake Shelton, has impacted her.
During a recent appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show, the No Doubt frontwoman spoke of her new album, Bouquet, the seeds of which she planted in late 2020 when she began feeling an urge to return to the studio. Though Stefani told host Drew Barrymore that she “felt guilty” about devoting time to creating new music amid her hectic life as a mom to three kids, she “just couldn’t put it away” and wound up writing “a lot of songs,” 10 of which ultimately appeared on the new album that she released earlier this month.
“I realized that you really do, on this album, you needed to hear how far the love grew,” Stefani said, alluding to how far she has come since divorcing ex-husband Gavin Rossdale and forging a new relationship with Shelton. “After having to scrape myself off the ground and start over again, it’s a miracle—it’s just such a miracle to be now nine years in.”
Stefani, 55, and Shelton, 48, first met back in 2014 while appearing on The Voice as coaches. They later started a relationship and got engaged in late 2020, with their wedding following the year later.
At the mention of their nine-year-long relationship, Barrymore appeared shocked at how quickly time has passed. The “Cool” singer nodded in apparent agreement, adding, “That’s how fast it’s going.” She later described her husband as being “so cute, too.”
Later in the show, Stefani revealed a bit more about how the relationship has impacted how she thinks of herself while discussing “Pretty,” one of her new songs.
“I was looking back in my life, at all of the photos, like physical and inner beauty of myself,” the “Hollaback Girl” hitmaker explained. “I was thinking about eighth grade, I’m like staring in the mirror in the gym, right, like by myself going, ‘Am I cute? I can’t tell.’ You know when you’re trying to figure out if you are or not?”
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“The Sweet Escape” singer then said she was assessing the old snapshots to determine when she was “the prettiest” and when she liked herself “the most.”
“It was right when Blake started loving me,” she shared. “I wanted to write a song about that, because when you actually feel love for the first time, they reflect you. You can see yourself in them.”
