There's One Thing About Gwen Stefani That Really Surprised Blake Shelton

When you think of country music, one of the first names that come to mind is probably none other than Blake Shelton. Arguably one of the biggest acts to emerge from the genre, Shelton has been active in the music world for some two decades at this point. Bursting on the scene with the 2001 single "Austin," the then-long-haired Shelton quickly made an impression on listeners — with the track peaking at No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.1 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs.

Over the course of his illustrious music career, Shelton has seen more than 40 hits on the Billboard charts and has become an eight-time Grammy Award nominee. Despite never winning a golden statue (yet!), Shelton remains one of the most influential acts in contemporary country music. Shelton has also branched out of music into various other ventures — from restaurateur to television judge. And despite working on "Nashville Star" and "Clash of the Choirs," Shelton truly hit his stride as a coach on NBC's "The Voice."

Since the latter's inception in 2011, Shelton has served as a coach and has led numerous teams to victory on the singing competition series. It was also on the show where Shelton became enamored with No Doubt vocalist and future wife Gwen Stefani, another once-coach. But before tying the knot with Stefani, Shelton was initially taken aback by this one peculiar action of hers. 

You know, some people drive to work. Some people ride their bike to work, and some people even ride the bus to work. And Gwen Stefani ... you would think she'd be riding in style, right? Wrong. The mother-of-three actually takes a more traditional approach to transportation — one that caught fellow "Voice" coach Blake Shelton off-guard.

In a February interview with People, Shelton opened up about his first impressions of Stefani and how she initially made him do a double-take as she pulled up to work. "She had just had a baby [Apollo, with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale], so there wasn't even much of a friendship that first season," the singer told the outlet. "The thing I remember saying about her when people would ask was, 'Oh my God, that girl is unbelievable. She drives a minivan to work!' I thought rock stars drove Rolls-Royces, and Gwen was driving a black minivan," he added.

Stefani first arrived on "The Voice" in 2014 and was still married to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale at the time. The two tied the knot in 2002 and welcomed three children, but in 2016, the couple divorced after nearly 13 years of marriage, per People. Shelton, on the other hand, was still married to country icon Miranda Lambert, whom he would ultimately split from in 2015 after four years of marriage. With the stars now aligned (literally), here's what happened.

The mid-2010s were a pivotal time for both Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, as the two were finally out of their respective long-term relationships. But although the two eventually found love in each other, there was a period of emotional tumult for the two divorcées.

In 2016, Shelton opened up to Chelsea Handler on her Netflix series "Chelsea" about his divorce and recalled how Stefani essentially saved him. "I didn't really know [Stefani] that well the first time around on the show ... and then to all of a sudden to find out she's going through basically the same exact thing at the same time and this is how my life turned around ... All this just has to be meant to happen." When asked by Handler if he's never been happier, Shelton said, "there's no question"! 

In an interview with Billboard, Shelton revealed that Stefani also confided in him during her divorce. "She didn't tell me much, because we didn't know each other at the time, but she said, 'I'm going through something very similar to what you're going through. I understand. And I hate it,'" Shelton revealed. "That's kind of how our friendship and bond started," he noted. "Next thing I know, I wake up and she's all I care about, and I'm ­wondering if she feels the same about me." As it turns out, she very much did!