Gwen Stefani on Facing ‘Insecurities’ in Her Marriage with Blake Shelton: ‘You Still Create Drama in Your Own Mind’

Marriage was on Gwen Stefani’s mind when she was making “Purple Irises.”

In a cover story interview with NYLON on Tuesday, the “Cool” singer, 54, opened up about confronting her own self-doubt while writing the duet, which was released in February and features Blake Shelton.

On the day Stefani wrote “Purple Irises,” she had anxiety about getting into the studio again, but she was also dealing with “insecurities” she felt about her marriage.

“I had been going through those times where you’re questioning: ‘Oh my gosh, am I just getting older? Am I cute?’” she told the outlet. “In my own relationship, even though I know the truth of what’s happening today, you still create drama in your own mind about your insecurities and what might happen. I was in that phase of the relationship with Blake and getting paranoid.”

Shelton, 47, added that “it’s an insecurity we both have.”

“These are conversations that she and I have with each other: ‘Are you still going to love me when I’m old or if I forget who I am?’” he told NYLON.

During the making of the track, Stefani recalled she had sent herself a text with the words “Purple Irises,” which recalled when she and her husband discovered the flowers growing on his Oklahoma ranch and began a transplanting project amid the pandemic.

“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,” the former Voice judge said. “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.”

For the “What You Waiting For?” artist, the flowers remind her to be present.

“The truth is I am in love with my best friend,” she said, “and all this s— I’m thinking of in my brain, that’s all it is — I’m overthinking.”

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Stefani and Shelton married in 2021 after first connecting as coaches on The Voice in 2015. 

When they met, the No Doubt rocker was married to Gavin Rossdale, and the “Ol’ Red” performer was married to fellow country singer Miranda Lambert. Following their respective divorces, the pair began dating.