All About Gwen Stefani: Dyslexia, No Doubt, Gay Husband and Other Incredible Stories

Gwen Rene Stefani was born in Fullerton, a small town in California. Her full name is not Gwendoline at all: the girl is named after the heroine of Arthur Hailey’s novel The Airport, published a year before her birth. The middle name is taken from a song by The Left Banke popular in the 60s. As Gwen’s father is from Italy, the accent of the surname is on the second syllable.

The family had three other children – two brothers and a sister. All of them loved music from childhood, which later led some to success.

When Gwen started school, it was revealed that she suffered from dyslexia, which prevented her from reading and writing properly. However, as an adult, she had no problem with letters, especially when she wrote poetry and lyrics for her songs!

In addition to music, she loved sports and drawing. After school, she entered college in her hometown in the art section. But because of her brother’s business, she often had to skip school.

In 1986, Gwen’s brother Eric formed a small ska musical group, Apple Core (“Apple Core”). He invited his sister there, who had a pleasant voice, but at first only for the role of backing vocalist. Soloist John Spence, however, quickly agrees to sing a duet with her.

They rehearsed and performed briefly for just over a year: On December 21, Spence shot himself in the park, and Gwen took that story very close to her heart. Then the group was renamed in honor of his favorite expression – No Doubt (“Without a doubt”).

At the same time, Gwen Stefani begins an affair with bassist Tony Canal. It was a very practical option for both of them: thanks to concerts and rehearsals, they spent a lot of time together. “I was so hoping to have a child from him!” – the singer later said. This did not happen, but their relationship later greatly influenced the popularity of the group.

The group performed in their hometown and nearby towns until they caught the attention of local record label Interscope Records. In 1991, No Doubt released the first album bearing the name of the group… and failed!

However, the musicians were undeterred and continued to write songs and perform them. The second album, which they recorded alone, suffered the same sad fate, but thanks to the third, they thundered around the world.

Tragic Kingdom (1996) featured two songs written by Stephanie’s brother and sister: Don’t Speak and Just a Girl. The album was not easy for the group: it had to be recorded in several parts in a dozen different studios.

What is the reason for the success of this particular album? In 1994, Gwen and Tony’s relationship reached an impasse. They broke up, which gave Stephanie a new creative boost: she wrote several lyrics to this novel, and all of these songs became chart toppers. The album is double platinum, the clip of Don’t Speak receives several awards… And Gwen Stefani begins another romance.

In 1995, No Doubt did a short tour with Bush. Feelings flared between Gwen Stefani and Bush leader Gavin Rossdale…and faded after a few months. During the time they weren’t together, Gavin managed to reunite and break up with Courtney Love, who said he reminded her of Kurt Cobain.

At the end of 1996, Gwen Stefani got back together with Rossdale, and in 2002 they played a wonderful wedding. By then, No Doubt had released two more fairly successful albums, and then the band went on a nearly ten-year sabbatical.

During this time, Gwen gave birth to two sons by Gavin – Kingston (2006) and Zuma (2008) – and released two solo albums: Love. Angel. music. Babe. and The Sweet Escape.

The family life of the two musicians was quite happy, but some circumstances hampered it.

It must be said that Rossdale was a great lover of women… and not only. The year he met Gwen, singer Boy George published an autobiography in which he mentioned that Rossdale was romantically involved with singer Peter Robinson, known as Marilyn.

Rossdale was furious and threatened to sue him. But the story went as usual: in 2003, Marilyn dedicated a song to Gavin and put their joint photo on the album cover, and six years later he gave a great candid interview that they met long enough in the 80s.

Rossdale could no longer deny his gay experience and admitted it was true and the relationship was a “growth stage”.

This news greatly worried Gwen Stefani, and the marriage cracked. In an attempt to save him, she gave birth to her third son, Apollo, in 2014. Then she was invited to judge the TV project “Voice”. Gwen wanted to come across as a successful singer and a happy mother. She was very successful at first (she was about to record a third solo album, and in 2012, with No Doubt, she recorded their sixth and final one), and the clouds were gathering in the family.

In August 2015, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale announced their divorce. Singer Marilyn said Gavin had called her shortly before and told her her life was over. Nonetheless, the stars haven’t commented on the reasons for the divorce in over a year, and here’s why.

First of all, the last straw that broke the camel of Gwen Stefani’s patience was when she caught her hubby in bed with…their children’s nanny Mindy Minn! She could not stand this – and immediately filed for divorce. After that, Gavin briefly met Mindy openly, and soon she gave birth to a child, but both denied it was from him.

Second, during her family life, Gwen Stefani earned around $120 million. This includes income not only from music activities: she founded the fashion clothing and accessories brand LAMB and the fragrance line Harajuku Lovers. Gwen loved to sew since she was a child, and she herself designed some of the outfits for her performances and public appearances. In addition, in 2014, she created her own series of varnishes for the OPI brand.

Gavin’s income is an order of magnitude lower. He tried to claim half the property, but the court refused. In the end, they shared custody of the children, Gwen ended up with three houses in California and all the money she earned, and Gavin became a real estate owner in Europe.

After the divorce and property division was completed, Gwen gave several interviews. Including – and about his new novel.

With musician Blake Shelton, who is 6 years younger than her, Gwen met on the set of The Voice. He consoled her during the divorce proceedings… and soon they started dating. He was divorcing his wife at the same time, although both said the reason for their separation was not Gwen at all, but “irreconcilable contradictions”. Who knows…

Rumors of marriage have haunted the minds of fans of Gwen Stefani since the summer of 2016. However, the couple is postponing the formalization of the relationship, and so far this joyful event has not happened.

In the summer of 2017, Gwen was seen several times in one of the Los Angeles fertility clinics, and in the fall photos appeared showing that she was pregnant. However, Gwen Stefani never gave birth to her fourth child and she diligently avoids questions about it.

Gwen and Blake are fine now. They finally got married and are incredibly happy together.

Photo: Getty Images