Before girlfriend Gwen Stefani came along, Blake Shelton admits that he wasn’t always the nicest guy.
The country singer — who currently works alongside Stefani on season 17 of The Voice, where the couple first met in 2014 — reflected on how the “Hollaback Girl” singer has impacted his life in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight, crediting his girlfriend for his friendlier attitude.
“I don’t want to remember what I was like before Gwen, actually,” he told the outlet.
He went on to joke that before coupling up with Stefani, 50, he “was a jerk to everybody” — but just “a little bit of a jerk” to Voice co-host Kelly Clarkson.
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However, with Stefani in the picture, Shelton, 43, contended “Look how nice I am now!”
The “God’s Country” singer isn’t the only thankful one — Stefani gushed in the same interview that “Blake saved [her] life, everybody knows that.”
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“Like, we’re just having the time of our lives, and we never expected that this late in our lives, so we’re just trying to savor every moment together, and just to be back on The Voice as well, not to change the subject, but working together again has been really fun, and I love being here and I love being with him,” the singer added.
The couple — who celebrated their four-year anniversary of dating last month — are also spending more time together in the studio.
After releasing “Go Ahead and Break My Heart” in 2016, Shelton and the No Doubt rocker recorded recently new track “Nobody But You,” set to be featured on the country star’s upcoming album, Fully Loaded: God’s Country, on Dec. 13.
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“This was one of those songs where the more I heard it, the more I fell in love with it,” Shelton said in a statement. “I also realized how important it is for me and where I am in my life, and I think that’s why [writer] Shane [McAnally] was trying to get it to me.”
“It fits my story,” he continued. “I was about to go in and record when I decided that it needed Gwen on it — because it is our song. I think it’s magic.”
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Like Shelton’s relationship with Stefani, the song reflects how loving relationships can change a life.
“The lyrics of that song are so on point, not just for me and Gwen, but I think for a lot of people,” Shelton told Nashville Lifestyles magazine in an interview published on Dec. 4. “The song is not a fairytale, but at the same time it’s the most epic, earth-rattling love song I’ve heard in a long time, because the lyrics are so honest and just say it how it is.”
“This song really cuts to the honesty of how these two feel about each other, and in a real-life situation,” he added. “It’s as honest as you can be in a country song, and something that will make you stop your car.”
“Nobody But You” is one of five new tracks on Shelton’s upcoming album, which also includes his latest single, “Hell Right,” and his chart-topping title track, “God’s Country.” On the release date of Fully Loaded: God’s Country, Shelton is set to debut his performance of “Hell Right” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.