BLAKE SHELTON and GWEN STEFANI hit a rough patch.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton’s off-camera behavior reveals deeper issues in their three-year romance
It was a big night for Blake Shelton. The cameras were there as he was named Country Artist of 2018 at the E! People’s Choice Awards on Nov. 11 and embraced girlfriend Gwen Stefani before taking the stage. Later in the night, the Voice coach returned to the stage along with Voice host Carson Daly to accept the Competition Show of 2018 trophy. Pointing at his former co-star on the hit NBC show, he declared, “All-time favorite coach right there, Gwen Stefani. I love her,” as the crowed squealed and burst into rapturous applause.
But when cameras weren’t around, it was another story. “Normally, this couple would be all over each other, flirting, laugh- ing, but not this time,” says an eyewitness at the show. “Even though they sat together at the same table, they had Carson sit in between them. The only times Gwen, 49, and Blake, 42, interacted at all was when the camera was on them.” What’s going on? After more than three years of dating — following the collapse of Blake’s marriage to Miranda Lambert and Gwen’s to Gavin Rossdale — “there’s trouble in paradise,” says a source. “It looks like their reign as one of music’s hottest, most loving couples is coming to an end.”
SIMMERING TENSIONS
Gwen and Blake’s behavior at their table was far different from how they act in Gwen’s social media posts, which paints a picture of the duo as super loved-up. “Gwen had her back to Blake, facing the stage, unless she was talking to Carson or his wife, Siri,” says the eyewitness. And when he wasn’t chatting with Carson, “Blake was also just facing the stage the whole time. He was pretty quiet and seemed to be checking his phone a lot.” The first time Blake won, “he knew the cameras were on him and that he was expected to give Gwen a kiss,” adds the eyewitness, “but Carson was shoved in the middle to make it a funny three-way kiss, seem-
ingly taking the pressure off Blake and Gwen — it almost seemed like he was acting as some kind of a mediator.”
GETTING WORSE
Turns out, there’s a lot to mediate. Life & Style has
learned that tension between Blake and Gwen has been building behind closed doors for months. NBC had reached out to Gwen about returning to The Voice, but Blake made it clear he thought that was a bad idea. And she’s urged him to lose weight, a second source says, which he
doesn’t want to hear. But the biggest bone of contention between them is about their future. “Gwen’s been dropping huge hints that she wants Blake to pop the question,” explains an insider. “She’s becoming increas- ingly frustrated that after all this time together, he hasn’t gotten down on one knee.” With Blake set to kick off a new tour early next year, “Gwen’s really hoping he’ll put a ring on it before he leaves,” the insider adds. “If he hasn’t proposed by Christmas, she might have to rethink their future.”