Don’t speak — I know just what you’re thinking. You’re heartbroken over Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale breaking up, just like the rest of us. Reports emerged on Tuesday that Stefani was filing for divorce from the Bush singer and guitarist after thirteen years of marriage.
Publications claim Stefani cited “irreconcilable differences” and that she requested joint custody of their three children.
“While the two of us have come to the mutual decision that we will no longer be partners in marriage, we remain partners in parenthood and are committed to jointly raising our three sons in a happy and healthy environment,” the couple said in an official statement.
As the legendary romance comes to an end, tabloid! looks back at the couple’s lives together throughout the years.
The beginning:
It was a classic meeting of rock stars: chaotic and unexpected, but sweet nonetheless.
Back in the mid-90s, when No Doubt and the Goo Goo Dolls were at their prime, they toured as openers for Rossdale’s band, Bush. Rossdale decided he needed to woo Stefani — or at least get her to notice him.
In a move out of a film, he threw a party in New Orleans as an excuse to invite her over. It all worked out, as he admitted they had their first kiss that night.
But did they pretend it didn’t happen the next morning? Evidently not. “We had that sort of cute, embarrassed, sober meet-up,” Rossdale said.
The wedding:
In 2002, seven years after their initial infatuation, the pair got hitched. Not once, but twice. The first ceremony was at St Paul’s, Covent Garden, in London, and another followed two weeks later in Los Angeles.
Earlier this year, Stefani admitted she was surprised to end up with someone like Rossdale — not least because of his heartthrob status.
“I never really saw myself landing a guy that hot. I don’t know if I was a nerd in high school, but I definitely wasn’t the super-cute cheerleader so I never saw myself getting somebody like that,” she said. “I do think he’s quite handsome. It’s not the most important thing about him, but it is nice... and he makes really cute babies.”
The bumpy road:
In 2004, after only two years of marital bliss, the couple hit a rough patch that tested the strength of their relationship. Rossdale found out he was the father of ex-girlfriend Pearl Lowe’s daughter, Daisy, who was 15 at the time.
It was a complicated time for the couple and for Daisy, made more so by the fact that Rossdale had been her godfather prior to the news that he was her biological father.
In 2010, Daisy — now working as a model in England — said that she and Rossdale had managed to build an amicable relationship, and that she had gotten close to her step-siblings from Stefani, as well.
“I now have a really good relationship with my father. It’s been blossoming for the past year but it really happened over Christmas,” she said.
“We got to spend time together. He’s got two beautiful kids who I really adore and his wife is gorgeous.”
The kids:
Speaking of children, Stefani and Rossdale have three sons, although they thought they would stop after their first and second, Kingston James McGregor, 9, and Zuma Nesta Rock, 6.
Stefani called her youngest son, Apollo Bowie Flynn, born just last year, her miracle baby.
“[Kingston] really has, like, a direct link to God,” Stefani said, speaking of her eldest son. “He asked me, ‘Mum are you going to have a baby? I want you to have a baby.’ And I’m like, ‘No, it’s over, we’re not having any more. This is our family.’
But Kingston continued to pray for another sibling, and four weeks later, Stefani discovered she was pregnant.
Rossdale was on the road at the time. Stefani sent him an email titled: “LOOK WHAT YOU DID TO ME NOW”.
“I was like, ‘What is this?’,” he said. “My blood pressure went through the roof. And I opened the e-mail, and it was the pregnancy stick.”
Toughing it out:
Despite the usual rumours that surround any famous couple — we could do without hearing the phrase “trouble in paradise” ever again — Stefani and Rossdale were adamant about defending their relationship in the media.
Just two years ago, Rossdale told E! that he was as loved up as he’s ever been. “To be with one person for a very long time actually gets more interesting. I’m into that. She’s a great girl. I’m lucky.”
In January, Stefani got teary-eyed on the Today show talking about her long-lasting love.
“If I look back on the whole thing, the one thing that’s been constant is that we both want the same thing,” she said. “We both want to be married. We both want to be good parents, and so I feel really proud of what we’ve done together and that we don’t... You’re gonna get me crying, no don’t, I’m going to get all emotional! But I am really proud of it.”
