A Complete Timeline Of Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton's Relationship
He's a little bit country, she's a little bit rock 'n' roll. Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have made no secret of their love for one another, that's for sure. The two gave each other another shot at love after both enduring high-profile relationships in the public eye, which broke down mere months before the two confirmed their unexpected romance.
Shelton was married to fellow country star Miranda Lambert for four years before they shockingly split in July 2015. "This is not the future we envisioned. And it is with heavy hearts that we move forward separately," the former couple said in a statement to the AP. It was only the following month that Stefani then announced her own split, confirming that she and Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, the father of her three children who she married in 2002, separated. "While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment," they said in their statement, per CNN.
Shortly after, Stefani and Shelton confirmed their romance — and they haven't looked back since. So grab your cowboy hat and your red lipstick, because we're taking a trip down memory lane to see how this relationship really came to be.
They connected on The Voice
Back where it all began. In 2014, Gwen Stefani first met Blake Shelton when she joined "The Voice" coaching team on Season 7. Of course, both were married at the time so things started off platonically for these two but they clearly got on well on the set, with Stefani posting her very first selfie with Shelton on Instagram in November 2014. "[Love heart emoji] him," she captioned the shot. If only they knew.
As for how things turned into more, Stefani opened up about when their relationship took a romantic turn on "The Howard Stern Show" in 2016, confessing it was when Shelton told her and fellow coaches Pharrell Williams and Adam Levine about his impending divorce. "I just couldn't even wrap my head around it. I didn't want anyone to know what was going on with me," she recalled, admitting Shelton's candor encouraged her to open up to him about her own marriage woes. "I wasn't trying to start a relationship; I was trying to not die. There was no plan," she said.
Shelton elaborated to Billboard in 2016 about the stars aligning moment, admitting, "That's kind of how our friendship and bond started, that day." He went on to reveal they started checking in on one another more and more frequently after that. "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."
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's public bonding
The world really started to notice the obvious chemistry between newly single Gwen Stefani and newly single Blake Shelton around October 2015. The two appeared on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" with their fellow coaches, Adam Levine and Pharrell Williams, to promote "The Voice" and duetted on several songs.
Shortly after that, photos of the duo attending Levine's Halloween party went viral. The snaps, shared by E! News, showed the twosome looking very cozy as Shelton put his arms around the No Doubt frontwoman. That came after the co-stars also attended holiday parties hosted by George Clooney and Jared Leto (how A-listy), with sources claiming they left those around the same time. "They are definitely flirty on the set and you can see they have fun together. There is something going on between them and they have spent time together off set," a source told the outlet at the time. They added they weren't quite ready to label their romance at that point, but had bonded over their tough divorces.
That all came after Shelton appeared to deny he was involved with Stefani after rumors began to swirl. "The stuff I read about myself blows my mind. Shouldn't I get to do all these things since I'm already accused of them?" he tweeted on October 7, 2015, seemingly of the Stefani romance rumors. But the cryptic denials didn't exactly last long.
The confirmation of dreams
This is it. The moment we've been waiting for. Yes, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's relationship was finally confirmed. In November 2015, Stefani's rep told Us Weekly, "Gwen and Blake are longtime friends who have very recently started dating." The outlet also reported that Shelton had big plans to introduce his new lady love to his world by having her on his arm during the after parties for the CMA Awards. Now that's the true Blake Shelton experience.
But Stefani wasn't quite ready to confirm the news herself at that point. Shortly before her rep made the announcement fans had been hoping for, Stefani played very coy during an interview with "On Air With Ryan Seacrest" when the "American Idol" host asked about the Shelton dating rumors. Stefani even jokingly blamed NBC, the network "The Voice" calls home, for planting the rumors claiming the two soon-to-be divorcees sparked up a romance. She also hit back after Seacrest asked her point-blank if all the speculation about her and the country star was accurate. "I'm not going to answer that right now, Ryan. I've given enough of myself to you this morning," she teased, but did slip in of Shelton, "I think he's hot. Don't you?"
They're officially red carpet official
While we knew Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton were officially an item, it actually took them a little while longer to finally make things red carpet official. It wasn't until February 2016, three months after Stefani's rep confirmed their romance, that the two would attend an event together as a couple. The pair made their big debut at the Vanity Fair Oscars party, where they stuck to their signature opposite styles. Stefani rocked a super glamorous long, sheer red gown with bold red lipstick, while Shelton went for a black sports coat, jeans, and cowboy boots. The lovebirds looked happier than ever as they walked down the carpet holding hands, and Stefani even performed a couple of hits at the event in front of her adoring boyfriend.
Stefani kept the party going afterwards by sharing stunning photos from their date night on Instagram, including one professional shot of the two posing together inside the event as she stood in front of her man while he looked down at her. Talk about steamy. The "Cool" singer was clearly more than happy to be showing off her new romance, captioning the photo with the hashtag "#Wow." Wow, indeed.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's first duet
After Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani went red carpet and Instagram official, it only makes sense that they went music official, right? In May 2016, the two released their first duet single, "Go Ahead and Break My Heart." Shelton told People he and Stefani wrote the song together in October 2015, but weren't actually sure if it would ever see the light of day. "We were at a point where it's like, 'Do we want to go there? What will people think?' And then we finally just got to the point where it's like, 'You know what? I don't give a s***,'" he confessed. "This song's important to us and the fact that we wrote it together is so important to both of us."
They didn't skimp when it came to promoting the song, either. The loved-up couple performed the duet live several times, including on the show where it all began, "The Voice." Shelton told People they had their reservations about taking to the stage together, admitting, "It's like people getting a look at something personal for the first time." As for what the song is actually about? It tells the story of their journey to love, of course. The country star confessed he and Stefani entered their romance with a little baggage due to their experiences, but noted, "We both had trust issues. We were getting over it, but we wrote this song about it, and it's perfect."
Blake Shelton credited Gwen Stefani for saving his life
As you may have noticed, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani started to seem much more comfortable chatting about one another in interviews by the time 2016 rolled around. Not only that, but both appeared much more content when it came to discussing their romance in their music, too. Shelton did both of those things, getting very candid about their relationship during an in-depth chat to Billboard and how much she really meant to him. "Gwen saved my life. Who else on earth could understand going through a high-profile divorce from another musician? You can't even imagine the similarities in our divorces," he shared, adding that he knows their romance came as a shock because they're such different people. He also opened up about putting his feelings about relationships into his album "If I'm Honest," confessing, "You can learn some facts of my divorce. Maybe not specifics, but you can get a general idea about it. It is my divorce record, but maybe even more than that, it's my happy, falling-in-love record too."
A few months later and it seemed like the world was ready for this couple to take the next step. Stefani appeared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" in September 2016 and was forced to deny rumors she and the country star were engaged (something she'd have to continue to do in plenty of interviews after that). "I'll let you know," Stefani teased of their potential wedding plans.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's yuletide love
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton joined musical forces yet again for the holly jolly track "You Make It Feel Like Christmas." The holiday tune, which was released in 2017, was co-written by the couple and featured on Stefani's Christmas album of the same name. The twosome brought the Christmas cheer by performing the instant festive classic all over the place, including on Stefani's NBC holiday special where Shelton made a special guest appearance in her sketches. "Yay!! It was incredible to write with @BlakeShelton and share the stage for a song that is so joyful and Christmas-y," she captioned an Instagram snap of the two smiling together on stage. The following year, the two put out a music video for the track.
In 2019, Stefani revealed that she and Shelton had already started their very own Christmas "thing." "Me and Blake will have, like, a tradition of always trying something new that we've never — like, just look on the internet and find, like, a recipe, 'That looks delicious. Let's try that!' You know?" Stefani told E! News. She explained they made the pasta dish Timpano Dome the year before, but Shelton was set on changing it up once again.
What happens in Vegas
What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas... unless you're Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, that is. Moving on to July 2018, Shelton was Stefani's biggest supporter when she debuted her residency in Sin City. Shelton was (naturally!) in attendance to see Stefani do her thing, nabbing himself a great view of his love as he sat with her son, Apollo. Stefani really cemented their connection from the stage, incorporating her boyfriend into her performance by donning an all-denim ensemble as a nod to his country roots. "You don't know what it's like to be able to wear a cowgirl costume right in front of Blake Shelton. It's my dream come true," she told the audience, per Us Weekly.
Stefani went on to explain Shelton's mark on her show on "Good Morning America" later that month, gushing, "He's just really an amazing all-around human so I feel so grateful for that." She added, "I celebrate him in the show, He's inspired me so much. He's changed my life. I was like, 'You changed my show, you changed my life.' Such an inspiration."
Not only that, but Stefani also took to Instagram Stories to show off the stunning bouquet she got from her man pre-show, writing (via Taste of Country), "I love my Blake!!!!" while also telling fans the flowers were from her "Best friend." On her Instagram grid, she posted a photo showing the "Honey Bee" hitmaker chilling with her kids backstage. Adorbs.
Constant cute collaborations
A couple as loved up as Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton can't just settle for a couple of duets, obviously, and they proved they had more collaborations in them when they joined musical forces once again in 2020 for the super sweet "Nobody But You." Now very much settled into their routine after five years of dating, the happy couple gave fans a behind the scenes peek at what their life together is really like in the music video. The video features professional shots of the two singing together, as well as candid raw footage of the two doing everyday activities like riding in an off-road vehicle, Shelton planting plenty of kisses on his lady love, and the two interacting with one of Shelton's dogs. One happy family, indeed.
"It just seemed to fit perfectly with our story, and musically I think it walks the line of what I can do and what she can do," Shelton explained of the song while chatting with ET, adding of his relationship with Stefani, "Everything just kind of aligned and came together and it's one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments." The country star also said he felt they were always meant to be together, sharing he felt God had a hand in bringing them together under such difficult circumstances. "The way she and I met and came together, it just felt like home, that's not an accident," he said.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's lockdown
While sheltering in place as the coronavirus took hold across the globe proved to be the demise of many a relationship, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani managed to avoid the pandemic breakup curse. The two hunkered down together with the latter's kids at the country star's Oklahoma ranch, and it seems like they actually had a pretty fun time spending all their days together as everyday life completely changed. The couple even took part in one of the pandemic's ultimate activities: DIY haircuts. In March 2020, Shelton shared a video on Twitter of his girlfriend shaving stripes into the side of his head. Well, you know what they say: The couple who shaves a head together, stays together. Or, at least in this case.
The musical pair spoke openly about how they really found spending so much time together in interviews, making the whole lockdown thing seem relatively easy (it probably doesn't hurt when you've got a sprawling, beautiful ranch for a backdrop). Stefani even described the experience as being "magical" to ET, explaining that she actually kind of enjoyed it because it was the first time they'd been able to spend so much time together in one long stretch.
With all that time on their hands, it was only natural for this collaboration couple to do what comes oh so natural to them: release another duet. The duo dropped "Happy Anywhere" in July 2020 alongside a sentimental music video made up of personal home videos.
Blake Shelton finally popped the question
Here we go. Yes, it's the big one. After five years of dating and around seven months of quarantining together, Blake Shelton popped the question to Gwen Stefani. The two shared the news on social media in October 2020, with Shelton sharing a snap on Instagram of the two kissing in what appeared to be the chapel he built for her on his Oklahoma ranch, while the "Hollaback Girl" proudly showed off her ring. "Hey @gwenstefani thanks for saving my 2020... And the rest of my life.. I love you. I heard a YES!" he captioned his upload. Stefani shared the same photo to her own Instagram account, but changed the caption to, "@blakeshelton yes please!" As for why he proposed on his own property? A source told Hollywood Life, "He felt that [the chapel] was the perfect place to propose because it has so much meaning to the both of them."
Us Weekly reported at the time that Shelton pulled the classic move and went to her dad to ask for her hand. "It meant so much to Gwen that Blake was so traditional about it," a source said at the time. As for how much the custom ring may have set Shelton back? Well, according to the estimate Brilliant Earth's Kathryn Money gave to Us Weekly, it could be worth an eye-watering $500,000. Stefani is certainly one lucky lady.
The wedding of a lifetime
Around nine months after getting engaged, it was time for Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton to head down the aisle. After rumors swirled that a wedding was imminent, Page Six shared proof the couple were finally husband and wife with aerial snaps of Shelton's Oklahoma ranch decorated for a wedding, including flowers adorning the chapel where he proposed. People then confirmed the news that they'd officially married — in a ceremony officiated by Carson Daly, no less — on July 3, 2021, before Stefani shared gorgeous wedding photos.
Proving Shelton is close as can be with her sons, Stefani uploaded a stunning snap of herself, her husband, and her boys on their big day to Instagram, plus a slew of other gorgeous snaps. One Instagram upload featured photos of herself and her new husband embracing, driving in a golf cart and cutting their cake. "Dreams do come true !!" she wrote in the caption.
The couple didn't quite get the exact wedding they originally imagined of due to the COVID-19 rules and restrictions that were still in place at the time, but it still sounds like something out of a dream. "It got really small. I had this fantasy of building like bleachers, but it got smaller and smaller, and as you know, the Lord works in mysterious ways," Stefani shared on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," adding, "It was so intimate. It was so exactly what it needed to be." So, what's next for these two? Only time will tell.