On Thursday, Gwen Stefani received a star on the Walk of Fame and was moved to tears by her husband Blake Shelton‘s speech.
“The first time that I ever met Gwen was in 2014,” Shelton, 47, recalled. “She wasn’t like any other famous person that I had ever met before. She drove herself to work in a black minivan with car seats in it.”
Stefani, 54, laughed as he spoke.
“She didn’t roll in with security,” he continued. “She came in with a baby and two little boys, which at the time worked like security because nobody was going near — it was chaos.”
The country singer said that from the very start, it was clear that Stefani cared about her children – Kingson, Zuma and Apollo – more than anything.
“And now, standing here almost ten years later after I first met her, I can say without question that being a mother is still the most important thing in her life. And I got to tell you all, that’s rare in this business,” he said.
Shelton joked at the ceremony that it was nice to see the devoted mother recognized and honored for her “side project” as “one of the biggest stars in the world.”
“She has risen to the top over and over again with her unique style that has made the world fall in love with her,” Shelton added. “Not as much as me, though.”
He noted his wife’s star quality.
“It’s that thing that she was just born with that will make you stop and go, ‘Wait. Who is that? What’s her name? What does she do? Why do I love her already? What the hell?'” he observed.
When Stefani later took the podium, she shared a hug with her husband, whom she called her best friend. “The minute I met you, I knew that I was home and I am so, so proud that you’re mine,” she said. “I can’t believe it. I love you so much.”
The pair became friends in the summer of 2015 as judges on The Voice. Both were in the wake of their own breakups, Stefani from Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale and Shelton from country star Miranda Lambert.
Their friendship developed deeper, and they were wed in 2021.
Stefani has won one Grammy Award, four MTV Video Music Awards, one American Music Award, one Brit Award and two Billboard Music Awards. She has also won two Grammys as the frontwoman of the band No Doubt.
