Pop star and “The Voice” judge Gwen Stefani says “Used to Love You,” the song she penned following the end of her marriage to British rocker Gavin Rossdale, was not intended to express revenge but rather forgiveness.
“I went through a real period of anger,” Stefani, 46, says in the new issue of Vanity Fair, “but I felt like this song was almost like a forgiveness song. It’s admitting, I used to love you and now I don’t. I opened this channel to writing again — it was me being honest, being real.”
In August, Stefani filed for divorce from her husband of 13 years, citing irreconcilable differences. She and Rossdale, 50, lead singer of the band Bush, have three sons Kingston, 9, Zuma, 7, and Apollo, 2.
Stefani had been unable to write songs in the immediate aftermath of her marriage’s dissolution, she said. “I was so scared and insecure and thought it was over for me. I think the hardest thing I did was to get out of bed and go to the studio”
Stefani has since begun dating country-music star and fellow “Voice” judge Blake Shelton. Saying she is in love “for sure,” Stefani nonetheless told Vanity Fair, “I don’t really want to go into that relationship, and God knows what’s going to happen. But I feel like I’m in an amazing songwriting place; instead of being closed off, I’m thinking about positivity and how I can do something creative. I’m just doing what I want to do. It’s so incredible to be in that zone. I’m always looking for the next song, and now I don’t have to be insecure or write about heartache.”
