Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton Confronting ‘Obstacles’ Before Marriage

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are facing down a few “obstacles” before they officially get married, according to sources close to the couple.

Stefani and Shelton have become one of the music industry’s favorite power couples. The two have taken things slow, but as competing coaches on The Voice, their visibility has endeared them to fans. Still, insiders told Us Weekly that they have a lot of issues to work through before tying the knot.

“There are obstacles they have to deal with,” the source said frankly.

Those “obstacles” reportedly relate mostly to Stefani’s kids. The singer has three sons, 12-year-old Kingston, 10-year-old Zuma and 4-year-old Apollo. Shelton has said many times that he gets along great with all of them, but Stefani wants to make sure they have some stability before committing.

That could be an issue, given Shelton’s living arrangement. The country singer spends a lot of time in Los Angeles with Setfani, but he goes back to his home in Oklahoma a lot as well. Stefani lives in L.A. year-round, feeling that her kids deserve a single, central location to feel at home.

While they work out the kinks in their relationship, Stefani and Shelton are reportedly relying on the wisdom of the church.

“Gwen and Blake met with her priest for a counseling session,” the insider said. The meeting reportedly took place on Saturday, leaving the musicians with a lot to think about.

Stefani and Shelton began dating back in 2015. That same year, Stefani divorced Gavin Rossdale, father of her children. Rossdale is the frontman of the band Bush, and last month sources told Us Weekly that Stefani was sad that they had to witness the messy split.

“Blake has always wanted to marry Gwen,” they claimed, “but she’s always been extremely cautious because she has three kids to be mindful of.”

Despite all of these reports, Stefani and Shelton have repeatedly brushed aside questions about marriage in interviews.

“I think when there’s trauma, the way we had trauma back in the day, going through all these hard times, to get to a place where you find somebody that’s like your best friend that you know that you can depend on and trust and just go through life,” Stefani said during a recent appearance on the Today show. “I think that we’re just trying to be in the moment as much as we can.”

“I never thought I would get this moment, so it’s just really special,” she added.