Blake Shelton Admits He ‘Waited A Long Time’ To Have Gwen Stefani Back On ‘The Voice’

Blake Shelton opened up about having Gwen Stefani back on The Voice for Season 17. The country superstar spoke candidly about having Stefani replace longtime coach Adam Levine, revealing that he waited for the currently airing season “for a long time” in order to have his girlfriend back by his side on the NBC singing competition.

“The new season of The Voice is one that I’ve been waiting for for a long time,” the “God’s Country” singer admitted while speaking to Hollywood Outbreak. “Because Gwen Stefani is back on the coaching panel.”

Shelton added that not only is he excited to have the singer back on the series for “the obvious reason” of being his girlfriend, but also because he actually thinks Stefani brings a whole lot of expertise to the series due to her long musical background.

“She’s the only person… that can fill that lane of rock, pop, ska, reggae. She covers a world of music that really no other coach has been capable of really covering before,” he added.

Shelton also told the outlet that he finds it “very exciting” to see Stefani interacting with the contestants, particularly during the Blind Audition stages, because he likes seeing them discover all she has to offer.

“It’s exciting for all of us just to have her here,” Shelton continued of himself and fellow Season 17 coaches John Legend and Kelly Clarkson, even calling his girlfriend of around four years “truly an icon.”

Stefani returned to the panel when Levine famously quit the show after eight years and 16 consecutive seasons in May.

The twosome haven’t been shy about gushing over one another as Season 17 of the singing show got underway earlier this month. Stefani even opened up about her relationship with the country superstar in a recent interview.

The “Cool” singer didn’t hold back when it came to gushing about their romance, even admitting that the relationship they have is like a “storybook” kind of love.

“This is the most what I thought love was supposed to be. And it’s the most pure in the sense that it’s all the storybook of love,” she told Hoda Kotb on her SiriusXM radio show earlier this month, adding that she knows she’s “bragging” about their romance, but doesn’t really care because it was all so “unexpected” for her.

But all the “bragging” didn’t stop there, as the mom of three also spoke candidly about her boyfriend on Today earlier this month. She opened up about Blake’s sweet relationship with her three boys, who she shares with former husband Gavin Rossdale.

The Voice Season 17 with Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, and John Legend airs on NBC.