<p id=”par-1_43″>When <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/gwen-stefani/?swcfpc=1″>Gwen Stefani</a> and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/blake-shelton/?swcfpc=1″>Blake Shelton</a> began dating in 2015, she was entering into her third romantic relationship. The singer has had high-profile relationships that have colored her music, but they’ve been long-term. She shared why she hasn’t dated much in her life.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gwen-stefani-said-she-only-had-2-other-relationships-before-she-met-blake-shelton”>Gwen Stefani said she only had 2 other relationships before she met Blake Shelton</h2>
<p id=”par-2_25″>In a 2016 interview, a journalist asked Stefani if it was true that she had only been in <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-voice-star-gwen-stefani-ex-gavin-rossdale-no-similarities-raise-kids.html/”>two romantic relationships</a> before she met Shelton.</p>
<p id=”par-3_33″>“You have to understand where I came from,” she told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2016/03/gwen-stefani-music-blake-shelton-the-voice” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Vanity Fair</a>. “My parents fell in love in high school, and I grew up in a very conservative home — family was sacred.”</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Gwen-Stefani-Blake-Shelton-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Gwen Stefani leaning up to Blake Shelton on stage as he plays the guitar. She’s wearing a purple jumpsuit and he’s wearing a suit. They’re against a purple background.” class=”wp-image-3735882″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton | Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty Images</figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-4_30″>Her first relationship was <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-told-10-year-old-son-no-doubt-band-member-dated.html/”>with her bandmate</a> and their subsequent breakup provided fodder for the No Doubt album <em>Tragic Kingdom</em>. After that relationship ended, she married Bush singer Gavin Rossdale.</p>
<p id=”par-5_54″>“When I met Tony [Kanal, bassist for No Doubt and Stefani’s first boyfriend], I was only 17, and I instantly was obsessed,” she said. “It was the only relationship I had really ever had. And when we broke up, I met Gavin [Rossdale]. I was so naïve; I never even lived with a guy.”</p>
<p id=”par-6_11″>Shortly after separating from Rossdale, Stefani began a relationship with Shelton.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gwen-stefani-said-she-and-blake-shelton-connected-over-their-upbringings”>Gwen Stefani said she and Blake Shelton connected over their upbringings</h2>
<p id=”par-7_34″>When Stefani and Shelton began dating, many of her fans felt that it was an opposites attract romance. She said that while <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-blake-shelton-butt-heads-work-life-balance-gotten-closer-source-says.html/”>they were different</a>, they also were more similar than it may seem.</p>
<p id=”par-8_38″>“It’s definitely two different cultures. But there are many similarities, in things that we love and our morals,” she told <a target=”_blank” href=”https://www.glamour.com/story/women-of-the-year-gwen-stefani” rel=”noreferrer noopener”>Glamour</a>. “But it’s really fun when you can learn about so many new things and share those differences.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_24″>While she grew up in Southern California and he grew up in Oklahoma, she still had knowledge of country music before she met him.</p>
<p id=”par-10_35″>“I’ve learned a lot about country music from him … But my first concert ever was [folk/country singer] Emmylou Harris,” she said. “My parents took me out of Girl Scouts to go to that show.”</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-she-shared-how-her-upbringing-impacted-1-of-her-songs”>She shared how her upbringing impacted 1 of her songs</h2>
<p id=”par-11_17″>Stefani said her sheltered upbringing led in part to the <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gwen-stefani-didnt-start-writing-songs-until-heart-destroyed-broken.html/”>creation of the song</a> “Just a Girl.”</p>
<p id=”par-12_47″>“People will tell me, ‘You’re such a punk rebel,’ this or that, but I was not that growing up,” she said. “I was actually a super-sheltered, conservative girl. Now, there was probably a bit of me that was like, ‘Why do I have to be like that?’”</p>
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<iframe title=”No Doubt – Just A Girl” width=”925″ height=”520″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/PHzOOQfhPFg?feature=oembed” frameborder=”0″ allow=”accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share” referrerpolicy=”strict-origin-when-cross-origin” allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p id=”par-13_17″>As she grew older, she began to think more about what it meant to be a woman.</p>
<p id=”par-14_80″>“[W]hen you discover your sexuality — like when you’re little, you don’t notice it. Then suddenly you’re walking down the street and you’re whistled at. And you’re like, Oh, I have this power I didn’t know about,” she said, adding, “And you also discover you’re kind of prey. And you’re like, Wait, that’s confusing. So I wrote ‘Just a Girl,’ and I think that song is still relevant today. There are limits put on women, but why should there be?”</p>