What Brought Gwen Stefani And Blake Shelton Closer Together At The Start Of Their Romance

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton are something of an unlikely couple. While both singers have had incredibly successful music careers, the pop princess and the country star seemed to be from two different worlds. But after meeting on "The Voice" as competing coaches and going through divorces around the same time, they've turned into one of music's most high-profile couples. A look inside Gwen Stefani's relationship with Blake Shelton reveals that music was the thing that bonded the two in the first place, and Stefani opened up about exactly what brought them closer in an interview with People.

On the heels of the release of her newest album, Stefani sat down with People to talk about how Shelton became the muse of her newest songs. In that interview, she also discussed the beginning of their relationship. Stefani said: "We come from such different worlds. Our musical tastes are different, yet we do come together in this one place: We both love '70s soft rock and yacht rock." Yacht rock became the common ground of the couple at the beginning of their romance, and they would use music to get to know one another better. Stefani said: "We would always play this game, and we would put on a song and say, 'Do you know this one?' And it would always be these '70s songs." 

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton's relationship is as much a working one as it is a romantic one. Their full relationship timeline includes plenty of time that the two have teamed up on numerous projects since they began dating in 2015 and got married in 2021. Stefani's latest album, "Bouquet," was shaped by Shelton and his producer Scott Hendricks. It also features the song "Purple Irises," the newest duet between the music power couple. They've teamed up to work on other songs in the past, including "Go Ahead and Break My Heart" in 2016, "Nobody But You" in 2019, and "Happy Anywhere" in 2021. According to Stefani's interview with People, the two love collaborating on music.

Outside of working on songs together for their respective music careers, Stefani and Shelton shared the stage as coaches on "The Voice" for several seasons. While Shelton had been a coach from seasons 1 through 23, Stefani was an on-and-off coach for seasons 9, 12, 17, 19, 22, and 24. The couple gave fans plenty of memorable moments as they competed against each other in the five seasons both singers were featured on the show, showing off their chemistry. Despite some fans wanting Gwen Stefani kicked off the show and Shelton leaving after season 23, they became two of the most memorable judges in the history of "The Voice."