Blake Shelton has a special bond with Gwen Stefani’s three sons.

When the Voice coaches began dating in 2015, Stefani and Shelton had both recently gone through breakups. Stefani had split from husband Gavin Rossdale, with whom she shares Kingston, Zuma and Apollo, while Shelton called it quits with ex-wife Miranda Lambert.

Stefani helped Shelton get back from “rock bottom,” he told Willie Geist during a June 2018 Sunday Today episode.

“It’s a miracle that I met somebody that was going through the exact same thing that I was at the same exact moment in time,” the “God’s Country” singer explained at the time. “I think if Gwen and I were being honest right now talking about this, I think in the back of our minds, we both kind of thought this is a rebound deal. … But now here we are three years later, and every day that goes by just feels like a stronger bond between the two of us, and it constantly feels like it’s going to the next level.”

Shelton proposed to the California native in October 2020. One month prior, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that Kingston, Zuma and Apollo looked up to Shelton “in a big way.”

The insider explained, “He’s earned their respect as a father figure. He’s gone from being their friend to being a serious parental influence.”

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Shelton officially became their stepparent in July 2021 when he and Stefani tied the knot in Oklahoma.

Keep scrolling to read Shelton’s heartwarming quotes over the years about helping raise Stefani’s sons:

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