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Gwen Stefani has dropped her long-awaited fifth album Bouquet, and as its title suggests, the themes are growth and flourishing. Ahead of the album’s release — which took place Friday, November 15 — Stefani, 55, opened up about how her husband helped her tap into her creative craft.
In an interview with The Guardian, published Thursday, November 14, Stefani shared that her husband, country singer Blake Shelton, helped pick her up from a dark place.
“Meeting my husband felt like a second chance at life, because when my family fell apart [Stefani was married to Bush’s lead singer, Gavin Rossdale, for 12 years; they have three children] it was a catastrophe,” Stefani said. “How do you pick yourself up from that? But God put this other person there to love me.”
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Stefani was married to Rossdale from 2002 until 2016, when the divorce was finalized. She had filed for divorce in August 2015, and began dating Shelton in November of that same year. Stefani and Shelton officially tied the knot in July 2021, and split their time between Los Angeles and Oklahoma. Rossdale and Stefani share three kids — Kingston, 18, Zuma, 16, and Apollo, 10 — and Shelton is a stepparent to the boys.
While in Oklahoma, Shelton and Stefani enjoy gardening in their yard — and activity that has helped them grow closer.
“I know this sounds weird, but Blake and I came together in gardening,” Stefani said. “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. 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.”
Fans can listen to the story unfold on Bouquet, which is available for purchase and streaming now.