Gwen Stefani’s relationship with Blake Shelton may be stronger than ever, but it didn’t start in a good place. Before the pop star hooked up with her Voice co-star, they both were going through a heartbreaking time in their lives.
According to People , Stefani sat down with Howard Stern and explained how she felt when Shelton first announced his divorce with Miranda Lambert.
“I was in shock because I felt like he was exposing me. I just couldn’t even wrap my head around it,” Stefani explained. “I didn’t want anyone to know what was going on with me… I had this huge weight on me, and nobody but my parents and obviously everybody involved knew.”
Stefani kept her divorce from Gavin Rossdale a secret until Shelton’s surprising revelation, which came while on the set of The Voice . After Shelton had opened up, it became clear to Stefani that she could finally talk about her split.
“It was during that time, he came up to my chair… I never saw him look so upset,” Stefani shared. “So then I was like, ‘I gotta talk to you.’”
The future couple shared their own experiences with each other, and things eventually evolved from friendship to romance.
“Which was just unbelievable that God would put us in a position to have each other at that moment, in the same exact moment,” Stefani concluded.
According to Us Magazine , Shelton and Lambert finalized their split last summer. The pair had been together for four years.
Stefani and Rossdale were married for 13 years before breaking up. They have three sons together: Kingston (10), Zuma (7), and Apollo (2).
In the end, Gwen Stefani admitted that she never intended to start a relationship with the country crooner.
“He basically told me what was going on with him. We just started this friendship. I wasn’t trying to start a relationship. I was just trying not to die,” she added. “There was no plan. It was an incredible gift to be able to have a friend.”
For Shelton, the country star agreed that his relationship with Stefani didn’t happen overnight. Instead, confiding in each other gradually opened the door to romance.
According to Yahoo , Stefani’s breakup with Rossdale was one of the hardest things she ever lived through. Not only was Stefani married to Rossdale for 13 years, but they dated seven years before tying the knot.
“I was in quite a rebellious place because I was feeling really rejected,” Stefani recalled about her early days with Rossdale. “Somehow he got my phone number, and that was that. He stalked me, I think. I was only 26, and I only had the one relationship. I still lived at home when I met Gavin.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail is reporting that Stefani also opened up about her involvement in the film Mr. & Mrs. Smith .
Stefani tried out for the lead role in the movie, which was eventually awarded to Angelina Jolie . Although the No Doubt frontwoman didn’t land the part, she claims that producers almost cast her in the lead female role.
“I feel like I almost got it. I went to a bunch [of auditions],” she told Stern.
After all the auditioning, Stefani decided that music was more important to her than acting and gave up on the part.
Of course, the movie is also where one of Hollywood’s most famous couples got together: Jolie and Brad Pitt. If Stefani would have landed the part, she truly believes that things would have turned out a lot different in her life.
Could Stefani have been Mrs. Brad Pitt?
For Stefani, everything happened just like it should have, especially considering how her love for music is still the driving force in her life.
Stefani is currently kicking off her summer tour to support her latest album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like .
Tell us! Would Gwen Stefani and Brad Pitt have gotten together had she gotten the role? Let us know in the comments below.
[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]