How Gwen Stefani And Gavin Rossdale Tried To Save Their Marriage

Before their devastating split, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale were the quintessential rock and roll couple, regarded as one of the most iconic pairs in music. Their relationship spanned decades and astonishingly withstood a flurry of scandals, but sadly, despite persistent efforts from both sides, their marriage eventually crumbled.

Their love story started in 1995 when No Doubt had been tapped to be the opening act of Rossdale's band, Bush, on tour. Stefani had just broken up with her ex and bandmate Tony Kanal, telling Howard Stern in a 2016 interview that she felt rebellious then. "[Rossdale] somehow got my phone number, and that was that." Meanwhile, Rossdale confessed that he went to lengths just to get the "Hollaback Girl" singer to notice him. "I threw a party in New Orleans just as an excuse to hang out with her," he told Details Magazine. They didn't marry until 2002, and throughout their 13-year marriage, they welcomed three children: Apollo, Zuma, and Kingston.

Their relationship was never perfect and was, at times, marred with hurdles, especially in the early years. In 2004, reports confirmed Rossdale's paternity of model Daisy Lowe, and in 2010, Courtney Love claimed that she had a tryst with him when he and Stefani were still in the dating stage. Through it all, Stefani still viewed their marriage as a "huge accomplishment" in an interview with Elle UK. "I feel so proud (of our relationship) – it hasn't been the easiest journey," she told the outlet, according to Us Weekly. But that journey ended in 2015, even after undergoing intense marriage counseling.

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's love story reached its conclusion in 2015 when they jointly announced they were parting ways. "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," they said. Reports shared that they cited irreconcilable differences as the key reason behind the split. However, Us Weekly reported that it was due to Rossdale's alleged affair with their family's nanny, Mindy Mann.

Neither of the two explicitly confirmed the third-party involvement. Still, Stefani alluded to it in a Harper's Bazaar interview, telling the outlet she spent months trying to keep it on the down low. "It was the beginning of hell. Like six, seven, eight months of torture, trying to figure out this big secret," she said. Despite the revelation, they didn't give up just yet, and per Rossdale, they elected the help of a therapist. "We had so much counseling, so much counseling, I could be a counselor," he shared in a "Loose Women" appearance (via Page Six). "I tried, I tried hard but that's the way it goes ... I made sure I did everything I could."

Meanwhile, Stefani resorted to prayer as a coping mechanism. "That's my childhood, that's how I was raised. And I think I strayed from that. But you know when it gets that bad, you just get desperate?" she explained. "You're on your knees. You're like, 'What do I do?'"

Even though their separation was mostly amicable, their split was not something they willingly embraced. Gavin Rossdale was the first to admit that he thought Gwen Stefani would be his endgame. "[Divorce] was completely opposite to what I wanted," he told The Sun. "Apart from death, I think divorce is one of the hardest, most painful things to go through."

Stefani echoed a similar sentiment, sharing with Pride Source that all she ever wanted was an enduring romance like what her parents have. When she found out that her marriage with Rossdale would have to end, it crushed her. "I got a divorce. It's the worst thing that can happen to me besides death," she said. "My dreams are shattered and I feel so embarrassed about what happened."

But as we all know, Stefani was able to find love again in her "The Voice" co-star Blake Shelton, who she "didn't see coming." Opening up to People, she said, "It was an amazing gift to experience love like that for the first time. He's changed my life." As for Rossdale? He decided to focus on parenting after growing exasperated over relationships. "I keep getting screwed up and screwed over," he told the outlet. "I'm not very good at them, I guess. I had a divorce, I had a long-term girlfriend — that went to s**t and I don't have a girlfriend now, even though everyone seems to think I do. You get burned by that stuff."