When Gwen Stefani became a coach on Season 7 of The Voice in 2014, Blake Shelton had no idea that everything about his life was about to change. The country music hitmaker could have never predicted that not only would he and Stefani go through painful divorces at the same time — he to Miranda Lambert and she to Gavin Rossdale — but that they would end up falling in love with each other, and create a beautiful, blended family together.
“If you would’ve told me the first season that we met that what was gonna happen, I would’ve been like, ‘No, we actually don’t even have anything to even talk about’… It’s crazy how things work out,” Shelton tells Entertainment Tonight.
Not only could Shelton have dreamt of marrying the No Doubt singer, but he never imagined that he would become a proud stepfather to her three sons, Kingston, Zuma and Apollo, whom she shares with Rossdale. Shelton loves the unexpected role of being a father.
“If I could have a repeat of these past ten years, [that] would be perfect,” Shelton says. “Next month, we’ve got an 18-year-old, which it blows my mind that already happened. And in a couple of years, we’ll have another 18-year-old. And that’s… it’s gonna be I guess a lot more alone time, which I’m not mad about that either.”
“But we still have Apollo,” he adds, “so we have another almost ten years before we can kick him out, so it should be a lot of fun.”
Until Stefani, Shelton spent his life focused on himself and his career. But now he happily puts his wife and stepsons ahead of himself, and likely always will.
“I learned quickly, not because anything happened, but just reading the room, you’ve really got [to think], ‘I have to take a step back,'” Shelton explains. “When people say it’s not about you anymore when you have a kid… I think, if you’re doing it right, it’s not about you anymore. That’s true.”
The family spends a lot of time on Shelton’s Oklahoma ranch, a far cry from the boys’ life in Los Angeles.
“I get to teach them the country, and I love that,” Shelton boasts. “Whether it’s music, whether it’s literally getting out, getting their hands in the dirt or being out on the ranch, seeing the animals, whatever, you know? I absolutely love being the person that gets to introduce them to that stuff.”
It was his three stepsons that inspired Shelton to leave The Voice, where he had been since the show began in 2011.
“If I walked away from my career at this time, the only thing that I run the risk of is having regrets that I’m missing out on some more important things in life,” Shelton told People at the time. “For now, that’s our kids. This isn’t about me anymore and never will be again.
“Even though I’m a stepparent, I take that job very seriously,” he continued. “The kids see me as a very important person in their life. [When they ask], ‘Why isn’t Blake here?’ I take that stuff to heart. I’ve made plenty of money, but you can’t buy time back. I don’t want any regrets.”
Shelton and Stefani have a new duet, “Purple Irises,” out now. The song is from Stefani’s next record.