Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Zuma, Kingston, and Apollo.Photo: Gwen Stefani/Instagram
Blake Sheltonis sharing how his own dad paved the way for him to understand and embrace the role of being a stepfather.
During awide-ranging interviewFriday at this year’s Country Radio Seminar in Nashville, Shelton, 45, opened up about his life as a stepdad to wifeGwen Stefani’s three sons and why he was “all about signing up” for the rewarding role.
Shelton revealed that Stefani’s three sons —Kingston, 15, Zuma, 13, and Apollo, 8, whom she shares with exGavin Rossdale— initially made the No Doubt artist, 52, skeptical that the couple would make it long term.
“I think Gwen thought, when we first started seeing each other, that it was just gonna be a moment in time because of that,” he said, alluding to her concern about whether he would want her sons in his life.
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Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.Gwen Stefani/Instagram
“He took Richie on and raised him from the time he was 1 year old, and my brother never thought of my dad as anything other than his dad,” said Shelton, wholost his brother, age 24 at the time, in a car accident in 1990.
“The example that my dad set for me was that [child] was not even a consideration [in a romantic partnership]. You got three boys? Awesome! My dad did it. My dad raised me. I could do this. I didn’t know what I was signing up for, but I was all about signing up for it,” Shelton continued. “And every day I’ve fallen in love with the boys as much as I do with Gwen.”
Gwen Stefani/Instagram
The “God’s Country” artist also revealed he rocked the LA-raised boys' world when they began making trips tohis 1,300-acre ranch near Tishomingo, Oklahoma, and recalled the older boys' first visit when they were clueless about rural life.
“The two of them were like, ‘Well, what do we do now?’ " Shelton said. “I go, ‘Go out that door and don’t come back till you’re too tired to go any further.’ Well, they can’t even imagine just going down to the creek with a net or turning over rocks or getting on a buggy and driving around.”
Today, Shelton said, his ranch has become “like Disneyland” for all three of his stepsons.
Though he’s taught them how to fish, Shelton said the boys have other favorite pursuits: “When it comes to burning things and starting fires and throwing hatchets, you better get out of the way!”
source: people.com
