Gwen Stefani Wasn’t Sure if it Would Be ‘Awkward’ to Compete With Blake Shelton on ‘The Voice’

They go head-to-head! Gwen Stefani and boyfriend Blake Shelton previously met on The Voice, and Gwen, 49, admitted in a new promo for the upcoming season that she wasn’t sure if it would be weird to compete against him as a judge on the show now that they’re dating. “I didn’t know if it was gonna feel awkward to be fighting against him,” she revealed. But it’s clear from the rest of the clips that they got over any awkwardness real quick.

“I’m very excited to see America’s favorite couple fight it out,” fellow coach John Legend remarked at one point in the promo. But how much fighting actually happens? At another time in the video, Gwen called Blake, 43, her “favorite human in the world,” so clearly there are no hard feelings between them even though they’re in competition.

“It’s the blondes against the bros, y’all,” coach Kelly Clarkson remarked in the season 17 sneak peek. “Mom and Dad are fighting,” she joked about Gwen and Blake later on. Obviously, she got a kick out of working with both of them on the reality series. 

Frankly, it kind of seems like viewers are going to love the rivalry, too! Later on in the clip, Gwen blocked Blake during the competition, and he jokingly asked her, “Why are you doing this to me? I thought you loved me!” But she doesn’t seem to mind at all making the whole thing harder for Blake — in fact, Gwen told the camera, “I’m sensing that I could possibly win this season.” Her partner had better watch out!

The couple first confirmed their romance back in November 2015. “Gwen and Blake are longtime friends who have very recently started dating,” the No Doubt singer’s rep told Us Weekly at the time. They later made their red carpet debut as a couple at the 2016 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, and performed onstage during the 2016 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. These days, they seem to be stronger than ever and reportedly split their time between Gwen’s Los Angeles home and Blake’s ranch in Oklahoma. Do you think there’s any chance we’ll see a proposal on an upcoming episode of The Voice?