Country star Blake Shelton is setting the record straight about rumors surrounding his marriage to Gwen Stefani — and revealing how artificial intelligence has made the problem even stranger.
During a recent interview on the radio show Country Countdown USA, host Lon Helton joked that it’s tough to Google Shelton without running into misleading information. Shelton agreed, saying that starting late last year, he noticed a wave of headlines claiming he and Stefani had quietly split.
“Starting in October, I think, or maybe November … I started noticing these articles popping up about, ‘Blake and Gwen — they’re split up. They’re not even seeing each other anymore, they’re going through a divorce,’” he said.
But only a week later, the same types of outlets were suddenly reporting the opposite. Shelton recalled, “And then, a week later, a picture comes out of us walking out of the grocery store … ‘Oh, they’re back together again!’” Then the cycle would repeat. “Another week goes by, and we’re not seen at the grocery store … ‘They’re divorcing.’ I told her, ‘Man, I don’t know what is going on out there.’”
The God’s Country singer says online rumors are nothing new, but AI has added a confusing twist. He admitted that he has seen photos of himself with Stefani that look real — even though they never happened.
“I see pictures of Gwen and I on social media that I really go, ‘That looks so real.’ But I know I don’t even own that shirt or, ‘Whose car is that?’” he said.
The experience has changed how he consumes media. Shelton said he’s far more skeptical about what he sees online now, adding, “I don’t believe anything anymore … I mean nothing. I just don’t believe it.”
Despite the internet drama, the couple seems as steady as ever. Shelton, 49, and Stefani, 56, first met in 2014 when Stefani joined The Voice as a coach. At the time, both were married — Stefani to Gavin Rossdale and Shelton to Miranda Lambert. They finalized their divorces in 2015 and began dating later that year.
Shelton eventually proposed, and the couple married in a small ceremony on Shelton’s Oklahoma ranch in July 2021. Since then, the pair has blended their families and kept faith at the center of their relationship.
Stefani, who has spoken openly about her Christian faith, once shared on The Drew Barrymore Show that having a “third party” in their marriage keeps them grounded — a reference to God. “Best advice would probably be, make sure you have a third party,” she said, as she looked up and pointed toward the sky.
For Shelton, the rumors may never completely stop, but he sounds content focusing on what’s real instead of what’s online. And for fans wondering how things are between him and Stefani — the answer appears to be just fine.