Inside Gwen Stefani's First Marriage To Gavin Rossdale: Why It Crumbled, How They're Coparenting
While Gwen Stefani may be ready to move on with second husband Blake Shelton after the duo tied the knot over Fourth of July weekend, it's hard to forget about the pop star's past with first husband Gavin Rossdale.
The former flames may not have had the country kind of love Stefani now has with Shelton, but she and the British rocker were certainly one of Hollywood's hottest power couples. However, after almost 13 years of marriage and three children together, Stefani and Rossdale decided to part ways.
The coparents first met in 1995 when "The Sweet Escape" singer opened for Rossdale's band Bush in London during their 27-month No Doubt tour. They went on to date for six years before the handsome hunk popped the question.
Nine months later, the "No Doubt" crooner walked down the aisle in London in 2002, with her rocking a white and pink Dior gown by John Galliano. Stefani and Rossdale had two additional nuptials, one for the blonde beauty's family in L.A. and one for her friends.
Unfortunately, the pair's honeymoon phase came to an abrupt end two years after they wed, as it was revealed that Rossdale fathered a child with Pearl Lowe in 1989. After the "Love Remains The Same" musician finally agreed to take a paternity test, the results confirmed that he was the dad to then 15-year-old model Daisy Lowe, now 32.
Despite learning of Rossdale's lovechild, he and Stefani managed to get their relationship back on track and welcomed their first child together, son Kingston James McGregor, in 2006.
At the time, the excited father gushed over his wife, telling PEOPLE: “[Gwen] looks amazing and she’s doing real good." Stefani and Rossdale later welcomed their second son, Zuma Nesta Rock, in 2008 and their third son, Apollo Bowie Flynn, in 2014.
And while it seemed like there was no trouble in paradise, the former couple announced in August 2015 that they decided to split after 20 years together. “While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment," they shared in a statement at the time.
After Stefani filed for divorce from Rossdale, citing irreconcilable differences, it was revealed that he had been accused of cheating on Stefani with their nanny, Mindy Mann. Rossdale's affair with the blonde Australian had been going on for three years, according to .
The mother-of-three allegedly uncovered her first husband's infidelity in February 2015 when she found explicit texts on the family's iPad between the two, which included nude photos of Mann and their plans to meet up for secret hook-ups, per the outlet.
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Rossdale finally confessed to cheating months after Stefani caught on to their affair, it was reported, and the pair announced their split that summer. Rossdale's confession “completely devastated [Gwen],” a source previously told the outlet. "She was mortified, livid, and embarrassed."
Luckily, Stefani was able to find love once more, as she wed her fellow The Voice judge. She and Shelton announced their relationship in 2015, shortly after her split from Rossdale. The newlyweds are now enjoying married life — following Shelton's proposal last October — but it took them a while to tie the knot because the former couple's lengthy annulment process got in the way.
Stefani began "the formal process" of annulling her marriage to Rossdale in 2019, but the pandemic put a pause on her plans to marry and "have the marriage recognized by the Catholic church," OK! reported.
Meanwhile, adding another parent to the mix has only complicated Stefani and Rossdale's co-parenting relationship. The former couple was already facing an uphill battle with their parenting style, as an OK! source exclusively explained: "[Gavin's] very organic and kind of carefree, whereas Gwen's a bit stricter."
And after Zuma broke his arm during two separate incidents, Stefani “wants the boys to be supervised a lot more when Gavin has them because she gets so worried when they're out of her sight,” the source added, noting that: “She trusts Gavin's intentions, but they keep coming home banged up and bruised from all the roughhousing they do at his place — and that's got Gwen tearing her hair out.”
Despite a few incidents, Rossdale won't be giving up (or willingly sharing, it seems) dad duty with Shelton anytime soon. In fact, OK! exclusively learned that "Gavin wants to lay down some ground rules” with his kids' new stepdad.
During Rossdale's man-to-man convo with Shelton, 45, about his parenting duties, the 55-year-old "wants to make it clear that badmouthing him in front of the kids won’t be tolerated," the source claimed. “Gavin would like to say his piece sooner rather than later."
According to the OK! source, Rossdale wants it to be known that the country crooner may be his kids' stepdad, but the rocker will always be their father.
"Gavin may still be on rocky terms with Gwen, but he’ll always be a part of those boys’ lives," the insider continued, noting that he's "gotten ticked off at Blake in the past for seemingly overstepping his bounds, and is ready to make it clear he has final authority with the boys."
Rossdale may not be a fan of splitting daddy duties, but Shelton is apparently "super excited" about becoming a stepdad — he even offered to give up fame for a bit to spend time with his new family. OK! exclusively reported that the happily-in-love couple is ready to walk away from their Hollywood lives so they can be with Stefani's boys.
"Blake and Gwen agreed that if work conflicts with the kids' schedules or takes them away for too long, then they won't do it," insisted the source. "They're happy to quit fame for their family."
