Gwen Stefani did all she could to make Blake Shelton‘s 43rd birthday memorable, all while keeping it low-key.
Shelton appeared at the Universal Studios Backlot BBQ on Friday and opened up about the special gift he received from his longtime girlfriend. She apparently had a sign crafted for him meant for display at his homestead.
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“It’s like a ‘Welcome to the Ranch’-type sign,” Shelton told PEOPLE. “It was a handmade deal. It’s pretty cool.”
But that present was not where the birthday festivities stopped. At Shelton’s request, Stefani threw an intimate pizza party on Thursday night, with a local friend handling the food prep in the couple’s little-used pizza oven.
“[Gwen] said, ‘What do you want?’ I go, ‘Well, there’s a big pizza oven out there, so we need to figure out how to use that thing,’” Shelton said. “So they have a friend who actually owns a pizza restaurant here in town, he came over and knew how to do it. … I have no idea how to do any of that stuff. It’s either a frozen pizza for me or Pizza Hut.”
Stefani’s three sons, whom she shares with ex Gavin Rossdale, had their own gesture for Shelton, writing out special cards for the “God’s Country” singer.
“Christmas, birthdays, any kind of holiday — they always sit down and take time to write a message and draw pictures or something,” the country star said. “Those are the coolest, coolest things, you know? It’s something I never experienced in my life. When they take time and actually make something, it’s pretty cool.”
Shelton and Stefani will reunite on TV screens this fall when Stefani rejoins The Voice as a coach, replacing Adam Levine. Shelton has been a coach on the NBC series since the beginning, with Stefani popping in to coach several seasons herself over the years.
“I’m glad that’s she’s already feeling competitive,” Shelton said of Stefani gearing up for a return. “Of course, I’m not going to let her win. I’m going to have to win, but I’m going to have to do it in a way that she doesn’t feel like I beat her. I don’t know if that’s possible or not because I definitely don’t want to upset her — that’s not going to pay off for me in the long run. This will be her fourth time on the show, so she’s no stranger to it. She knows what she’s doing.”
Photo Credit:Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
