"The Sweet Escape" isn't so sweet for Gwen Stefani anymore.
Following her 13-year relationship with Gavin Rossdale, the No Doubt alumna says that the song's lyrics carry a heavy connection to her personal life at the time. She thinks that the song "foreshadowed" her 2015 divorce from the Bush singer and frontman.
"It makes me cry," Stefani told NYLON when the song was brought up during an interview. "I listen to the lyrics of that song, and it's like, 'Whoa!' There was so much loaded f---ing stuff in that song that was going on in my private life that it's just crazy. It's foreshadowing the future."
The song's lyrics detail a spat between a couple as they attempt to patch up their marital issues. It seems that, in this case, art was imitating life for Stefani.
Rossdale has spoken openly about their split in the past, saying that he "never thought" he would get divorced. He looks back on bringing it into their childrens' lives as his "clearest, simplest shame."
"I feel bad for my kids, that's it," Rossdale said on Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes' podcast. "That would be the most profound thing, of like, I wish I could have just figured out a way to not have that in their lives."
He went on to say that he wishes there was "more of a connection with the person who made [their children] with me."
The "Cool" co-parents three children with Rossdale. Their first child, Kingston, is now 17. Zuma is 15-year-old with their youngest, Apollo, being 10.
Stefani also says that her life "fell apart" after the split.
"It was terrible, and there's so many people out there that have gone through the same thing. When that happened, I had to literally start over again. It was a reset of my life," she told People.
After starting over, she fell into a relationship with Blake Shelton in 2015. The pair, who married in 2021, frequently collaborate on music, also simultaneously serving as judges on singer competition series The Voice.
Following recent rumblings that her marriage to the country singer was in trouble, Stefani slammed the rumors and said they are "just lies."
"You can say whatever you want to say about our relationship - I mean, a week ago we were getting divorced again or something," she shared. "The truth is the truth, and we know what that is. And so that [negativity] would never penetrate just by me being vulnerable and sharing a song that I didn't write for anybody else but myself and Blake."
Stefani is now going back to her roots as No Doubt prepares to reunite at Coachella. She admits that their reunion caught her off-guard leading up to the California music festival.
"I definitely have that little thing in your stomach where you're like, "Oh, my gosh! What?' It's going to be amazing," Stefani recently shared. "It just happened so fast, and that's my favorite kind of thing to happen. And I think really just watching the internet blow up [with] how excited that the fans are? It's inspiring us."
No Doubt is set to play at Coachella on Saturday, April 13 and April 20.
