Back in May, Blake Shelton returned to his roots, dropping his first album in four years, the winkingly titled For Recreational Use Only, RadarOnline.com can reveal. After solely recording love songs with wife Gwen Stefani, the country singer offered up a surprising duet, Hangin’ On – the first breakup song the two have recorded together.
Shelton said they collaborated on the track, which is about “breaking up but still trying to stay together,” he said in March, adding he chose it simply because “it’s a bada– country song,” insisting: “It’s really no reflection of where Gwen and I are in our relationship – I hope.”
Distance Raising Alarms About Their Marriage
Blake Shelton’s latest album ‘For Recreational Use Only’ features his and Gwen Stefani’s first breakup duet, ‘Hangin’ On.’
In recent months, fans and friends alike have grown concerned the message may be more autobiographical than Shelton let on.
In fact, the pair hasn’t been photographed in months.
Date nights and getaways “don’t seem to be happening anymore,” an insider told RadarOnline.com. “Gwen and Blake have been spending an awful lot of time apart lately.”
Ten years ago, the country music singer and the pop star unexpectedly fell in love following the implosions of their respective marriages – Shelton’s to fellow country singer Miranda Lambert, 42; Stefani’s to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, 60.
They bonded over their shared heartbreak while working as coaches on The Voice and wed four years ago in the chapel Shelton built for his bride on his Tishomingo, Oklahoma, ranch and continued to show the world their love on the NBC competition series until 2022.
The pair was a surprising couple, with Stefani a fashion-loving California native and Shelton a down-home country guy.
“The Voice was good for their marriage because it bonded them professionally,” said the source. Not to mention it gave Shelton, who’s “not an L.A. guy and never will be” per the source, a reason to spend time in L.A. despite his preference for his beloved farm.
But with Blake rooted in the country and Stefani looking ahead to a 2026 Las Vegas residency at Sphere, said the source: “It’s become a talking point amongst friends and fans that they’re living separate lives. A lot of people think the magic’s started to wear off.”
A Noticeable Shift
Friends said Shelton and Stefani’s separate careers are fueling speculation they’re living apart.
It’s been seven months since they last posed on a red carpet together – back when Shelton hosted NBC’s Grand Ole Opry 100th anniversary celebration in March.
A few weeks later, in April, Stefani shared snapshots from a family getaway to the Ozarks with Shelton and her three sons from her first marriage, Kingston, 19, Zuma, 17, and Apollo, 11.
Over the summer, she posted sweet tributes to their stepdad for Father’s Day, his 49th birthday and their wedding anniversary–though things have been noticeably quieter since.
When Shelton marked Stefani’s 56th birthday on Instagram Oct. 3, his message to his “pretty girl” was brief and, for him, relatively muted.
For fans used to their big, public love-fests – gushing posts, red-carpet PDA and plenty of playful back-and-forth – it’s hard not to notice the couple has dialed things back, marking a shift from the days when they’d seemingly shout their love from the rooftops.
Another Hollywood Divorce Casualty?
Fans noticed Shelton and Stefani have scaled back their once-public displays of affection.
Last year, when ESPN’s Pat McAfee asked him about Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s increasingly public romance, Blake said he got it – because he’d done the same thing.
“It’s like, ‘Look, I’m dating Gwen Stefani. I want the f–kin’ world to know that.’ You know what I mean?” he said, adding that putting themselves out there was a way of showing the world they were “super into each other and proud of each other and their accomplishments.”
Now? Not so much.
“Truth be told, they’re both so different and it’s starting to become more apparent now,” claimed the source.
“There’s a real fear that the way things are headed, Blake and Gwen could wind up becoming another Hollywood divorce casualty, even though it’s the last thing either of them would want.”
Different People
Insiders claimed Shelton and Stefani’s differences are becoming more apparent amid growing tension.
By the time Shelton was 14, he knew what made him truly happy.
“Country music, fishing and hunting,” he told Hook & Barrel magazine in February. Stefani loved music, too – but never dirt, bugs and humidity, she confessed last year.
“I’m like, makeup girl,” the No Doubt frontwoman told Rolling Stone, acknowledging she and Shelton are “so opposite in so many ways.”
Heartache helped them find each other.
Following the demise of their previous marriages in 2015, “I was at rock bottom, in the middle of hell… Gwen saved my life,” Shelton later said. “Who else on earth could understand going through a high-profile divorce from another musician?”
As Stefani turned to her Roman Catholic faith to help her heal, Shelton rediscovered his Christian roots, too.
“I believe in God now more than I ever have in my life,” he said a few years into their romance, seeming to credit divine power for his relationship.
City Girl Meets Country Boy
Sources said Stefani has struggled to adjust to country life on Shelton’s Oklahoma ranch.
The city girl and the country boy tried to find common ground in Oklahoma – literally.
Stefani said she’d found “so much joy in gardening together,” and Shelton even gifted her a tractor. Last year, he bragged about her nurturing instincts.
“Gwen has an incredible sense for planting things: how to grow them and, once it’s growing, how to cultivate it, and when to prune something,” he said, adding: “I like to farm on a big scale, like corn or beans, acres at a time. She concentrates more on patches here and there and ends up farming things a little better than I do.”
But the truth, according to the source, “is Gwen’s more at home in L.A. and this life in the outdoors doesn’t really stimulate or excite her the same way it does Blake. She gave up so much for him by moving to the ranch full-time, and it’s been a lonely existence at times.”
More Time Apart
No Doubt’s upcoming Las Vegas reunion concerts will keep Stefani and Shelton apart even longer.
Now Stefani’s gearing up for a sweet escape. Last month – days before the October 19 debut of the new music competition show Shelton’s hosting on CBS, The Road, No Doubt announced the band is reuniting for a series of high-profile concerts in Las Vegas, marking the 30th anniversary of their seminal album, Tragic Kingdom, which produced hits that include Just a Girl, Don’t Speak, Spiderwebs and Sunday Morning.
Shelton is busy too, said the source – making music, occasional tour dates, his Ole Red restaurant chain and TV projects – “but he’s all about the downtime when he can get it these days, whereas Shelton’s got a ton of commitments coming up. The Vegas residency is a big deal – she’s excited about that, but also nervous as it’s a huge challenge. And it’ll mean more time apart from Blake.”
Pals Hoping Couple ‘Gets Back On Track’
Those close to the couple hope Shelton and Stefani can reconnect before their marriage reaches a breaking point.
And it could mean the end. Last year, Shelton gushed about his happy life with his wife.
“She’s my best friend,” he told Access Hollywood. “Maybe that’s the key… we literally have so much fun together. Whether [we’re] having a cup of coffee in the morning or watching a movie or performing in an arena somewhere.”
Those who know them are hoping they can get back to that place “and get back on track,” said the source. “The priority is to get in the same room again and stop the rot before it’s too late.”
