Gwen Stefani Admits She Didn't Know Blake Shelton Existed Before 'The Voice'

Gwen Stefani shared how her awareness of country music charts changed after crossing paths with her current husband, Blake Shelton, on the television show "The Voice."

The No Doubt frontwoman admitted that before working with Shelton, she was not someone she had paid much attention to.

In an interview with The Guardian, Stefani confessed, "I never listened to country music, so while Blake was super successful, I never even knew he existed before I met him."

With a newfound focus on the genre, she expressed her enthusiasm for the idea of releasing a collection of country duets alongside her husband.

"I love singing with him," she said. "He's very humble and doesn't realize how good he is. There's something so attractive about that."

Stefani recently released her latest musical creation, the fourth studio album, titled "Bouquets." In the album, the "Hollaback Girl" singer dives into the emotional journey of her divorce from Gavin Rossdale, alongside celebrating her newfound happiness with Shelton.

"When he heard 'Purple Irises,' he loved it so much he ended up singing on it," she said.

In recounting her relationship with the "Minimum Wage" crooner, Stefani described it as a new opportunity following her split with the Bush frontman.

Their 20-year partnership came to an end in 2015.

"When my family fell apart, it was a catastrophe," she shared. "How do you pick yourself up from that? But God put this other person there to love me."

Stefani also elaborated on how the strong bond she shares with Shelton catalyzed their collaboration on a track featured in her latest album.

"I know this sounds weird, but Blake and I came together in gardening. We have a house together in Oklahoma and during the pandemic, we came across this very old building on the land and there were some purple irises, which someone must have planted centuries ago, but they've survived."

She continued, "I wrote the song 'Purple Irises' about that and how it feels to find true love and the insecurities of not wanting to lose it."

Shelton and Stefani met on "The Voice" in 2014, but it wasn't until the following year that they started dating.

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Gwen Stefani, Blake Shelton