Gwen Stefani Dishes on Her First Public Date With Blake Shelton

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton have been going strong for years. Now, Stefani is opening up about the early days of their relationship including the first time that they went on a public date, as Billboard noted. During her appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show on Monday, the No Doubt singer reflected on her first public date with Shelton, which occurred in 2016. 

Stefani and Clarkson went on a trip down memory lane to relive some of the former's most iconic red carpet looks. This retrospective sparked Stefani to share an anecdote about her first public date with Shelton back in 2016 during the Vanity Fair Oscars party. When Clarkson showed Stefani a photo of her crimson gown from the occasion, the "Hollaback Girl" looked back on that red carpet experience fondly. 

"That was my first public date with Blake Shelton, actually," Stefani said. "It was, it was that night. It was the Oscars Vanity Fair party. I think I played at the party, then we went out that night." She went on to describe why it was such a significant appearance for the pair, saying, "He never does red carpets, now that I know him. It was kind of a red carpet. It was raining that night." Stefani added, "That melts me when I see it because that was such a moment for me. A good one."

Stefani and Shelton met in 2014 when they were both coaches on The Voice and started dating the following year. The couple tied the knot in 2021. Ever since the pair walked down the aisle, they've been opening up about how married life has been treating them. In April, Stefani appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and spoke about her first year of marriage to Shelton, which she described as "so fun," per Entertainment Tonight.

Ellen DeGeneres started off the discussion by taking a look back at their nuptials. The host asked why they kept things small, to which Stefani replied, "COVID." The singer continued, "I had this fantasy of building bleachers. It got smaller and smaller, and you know, the Lord works in mysterious way. It was the perfect amount of people. It was so intimate. It was so exactly what it needed to be." She went on to say, "Not just the wedding. The marriage is so so fun, and I'm so into it. And I feel very blessed."