Blake Shelton Gushes Over Being a Stepfather to Gwen Stefani's Sons
Blake Shelton recently opened up about his relationship with Gwen Stefani, and the country music superstar gushed over being a stepfather to her sons. People reports that Shelton gave a wide-ranging interview during the Country Radio Seminar in Nashville and amid the conversation about his career and personal life, the singer pointed out that, initially, Stefani's three sons — Kingston, 15, Zuma, 13, and Apollo, 8, whom she shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale — indicated that they were not sure the relationship would last.
"I think Gwen thought, when we first started seeing each other, that it was just gonna be a moment in time because of that," Shelton said, referring to the boys' skepticism. However, Shelton was committed to making the boys a priority, as he had the benefit of seeing his own father be a loving stepfather to his older brother. "He took Richie on and raised him from the time he was 1 year old, and my brother never thought of my dad as anything other than his dad," Shelton said. Sadly, Richie died in a car accident in 1990 at the age of 24. "The example that my dad set for me was that [child] was not even a consideration [in a romantic partnership]."
Shelton went on to recall his response to Stefani. "You got three boys? Awesome! My dad did it. My dad raised me. I could do this," he said. "I didn't know what I was signing up for, but I was all about signing up for it. And every day I've fallen in love with the boys as much as I do with Gwen."
The "God's Country" singer also shared a story about Stefani's older sons traveling from their Los Angeles home to his Oklahoma ranch for the first time, knowing very little about rural life. "The two of them were like, 'Well, what do we do now?'" Shelton said. "I go, 'Go out that door and don't come back till you're too tired to go any further.'"
He continued, "Well, they can't even imagine just going down to the creek with a net or turning over rocks or getting on a buggy and driving around." While that first visit was mildly jarring, Shelton says the property is now "like Disneyland" for his stepsons. "When it comes to burning things and starting fires and throwing hatchets," he quipped, "you better get out of the way!"