Blake Shelton Reflects on 'Turmoil in His Life' With Divorce While Falling in Love With Gwen Stefani

If Blake Shelton could have picked a time to meet and fall in love with someone, it wouldn't have been in 2015. It was then that Shelton was going through a painful and public divorce with Miranda Lambert, all while trying to keep his career afloat and continue with his job as a coach on The Voice. But fate intervened, and Shelton started having feelings for his fellow coach – and fellow divorce survivor – Gwen Stefani, all while trying to heal from his heartbreak over Lambert.

Shelton released two albums after his divorce: If I'm Honest in 2016, followed by Texoma Shore one year later. It was on If I'm Honest that Stefani appeared on the song, "Go Ahead and Break My Heart," which they wrote together while their relationship was just beginning. Shelton has certainly gone through a lot of changes in the last four years, in almost every area of his life, with the one steady thing being his love for Stefani even though he never could have imagined how much he would fall for her.

"It just seems like such a long time ago because there was so much turmoil in my life, and things just really calmed down and got into a good place now," Shelton told Nashville Lifestyles. "It went by so fast that part of me misses that time a little bit – when I was first meeting Gwen and getting together with her, and getting over the divorce. A lot of things were going on and I didn't have enough time to absorb all of that, so I love hearing those songs. They take me back."

Shelton is also having trouble stopping to enjoy his recent career success, only because he's too busy to fully appreciate it. After "God's Country" became a No. 1 hit, Shelton realized he was back in the game, one he probably never really left in the first place.

"If you had told me in 1994 when I moved to Nashville that I would even have one hit, I would have kissed you on the mouth," Shelton said with a laugh. "This has been an unbelievable ride and every time I start to think it's slowing down, something like 'God's Country' happens and not only reignites my career, it reignites my passion for what I do."

Shelton's upcoming Fully Loaded: God's Country record will include another duet with Stefani, this time "Nobody But You."

"The lyrics of that song are so on point, not just for me and Gwen, but I think for a lot of people," Shelton told Nashville Lifestyles. "The song is not a fairytale, but at the same time it's the most epic, earth-rattling love song I've heard in a long time, because the lyrics are so honest and just say it how it is."

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