
Gwen Stefani Admits She Was Desperate To Return To 'The Voice'

Jun. 5 2019, Updated 6:42 p.m. ET
About a week after NBC announced that Gwen Stefani would be replacing Adam Levine on The Voice after judging for 16 seasons, the singer revealed that she was dying to return to the show and work with her boyfriend and "best friend" Blake Shelton again.

Gwen, 49, first became a judge on The Voice in 2014 and then returned on and off for a few seasons. As fans know, the singer and Blake, 42, who is also a judge on the show, met on set and started dating in 2015.

While the star admitted to being a little shocked in taking Adam's place — who had been on the show every season since the NBC hit debuted in 2011 — she's very excited to be working with the God's Country star again.

"It’s going to be fun, it’s going to be exciting. I mean, Blake’s my best friend, so I get to hang out with him at work,” the star said on Tuesday, June 4, on The Talk. “I wanted to come back so bad. I mean, the show is so fun.”

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“But to think that Adam’s not going to be there is like bittersweet. And plus, like, being between him and Blake, the amount of laughter, I would have to like stop and massage my face, because it would hurt,” she shared.

As OK! readers know, it was announced on May 24 that the Maroon 5 lead would not be returning for The Voice's 17th season in Fall 2019.

Nevertheless, Gwen is excited for this next chapter of Adam’s life. "I’m happy for Adam because he’s been doing it 16 seasons. He has his babies," she said of the A-lister's children, Dusty Rose, 2, and Gio Grace, 16 months, with wife Behati Prinsloo. "He’s going to be able to go on tour and do music in a different kind of way.”

What do you think of Gwen taking Adam's spot on 'The Voice?' Let us know in the comments below.