Gwen Stefani Once Had to Tell Her Kids That Pharrell Wasn't Her Boyfriend
Gwen Stefani once revealed what made her and Pharrell Williams such a good team when it came to making music.
Celebrity
Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams seemed a little too close to Stefanās sons, but she quickly set the record straight about their friendship.
by Antonio Stallings
Published on February 14, 2025
Gwen Stefani and Pharrell have frequently collaborated with each other, so much so that Pharrell even helped make Stefaniās terrible dream come true. As many times as theyāve worked together, however, the pair have never been romantically linked. But that didnāt stop Stefaniās kids from confusing the āHappyā singer for her boyfriend.
Gwen Stefani and Pharrell | Kevin Mazur / Getty Image
Stefani and Pharrell were a perfect match when it came to music. The two have produced some of the singerās biggest hits together, including āHollaback Girl,ā āSpark the Fire,ā and āShine.ā But there seemed to be instant chemistry as soon as the two artists met. In a resurfaced interview with Rolling Stone, Stefani described how Pharrell was unlike any musician sheād met before.
āHe was this young little hip-hop guy, rebelliously wearing, like, alligator shirts, and riding skateboards ā which was so not hip-hop, do you know what I mean? He was always in his own lane, and that really attracted me. I was quite intimidated by him, because he was so creative and cool,ā she said.
Despite the hits theyāve created over the years, however, Stefani asserted that she and Pharrell didnāt have as tight of a bond as some might assume.
āHeās one of those people who always points me in the right direction. Itās not like weāve ever been that close, itās just that heās so intense and he has such amazing advice and he makes you think. Some of the stuff he said to me in my lifetime really made a huge impact, and of course the music we made together is incredible,ā Stefani once told The New York Times.
Stefani reflected on a time when Pharrell inspired her to perform soon after her pregnancy to highlight the producerās influence on her.
āI wrote him [in 2014], because my boys were obsessed with āHappy,ā and he wrote me back saying, āDo you want to come play at Coachella?ā And I said, well, I just literally gave birth. I stayed up all night thinking, God, maybe if I wore a black jumpsuit. Maybe, I could do it. After you have a baby you so want to get back. The first time I left the house was to go walk onstage and do āHollaback Girl.ā I got a tour bus and brought the kids out to Coachella so they could see I was friends with Pharrell and show off to them,ā she recalled.
As big of fans her kids mightāve been of Pharrell, they also thought their mother and The Neptunes rapper were closer than they were. Stefani had to briefly explain to her sons that they werenāt anything more than friends.
āThey were such huge fans and I started showing them pictures on the internet,ā she once said according to E! News. āThey were like, āWait a minute, was he your boyfriend?ā I was like, āNo.'ā
Stefani would end up famously dating her other Voice co-star Blake Shelton. The two famously met after they went through their own individual divorces, and later bonded over their heartache. Pharrell was more than familiar with both artists. But although he collaborated with them on The Voice, Sheltonās relationship with Stefani caught him by surprise.
āI had no idea,ā he said in an interview with Today. āAnd then Blake sends me a text message, and Iām like, āWhoa!'ā
But he also described watching Sheltonās bond with Stefani as a very cathartic experience.
āItās poppinā off,ā Pharrell added. āItās so beautiful, because being there, I watched both of them go through a lot, you know. You hate to see your friends go through something so heavy, and itās kind of like a miracle, man āĀ just watching that.ā
In hindsight, Stefani was just as surprised as Pharrell was by how compatible she and Shelton ended up being.
āIt was the most unlikely situation to ever happen,ā Stefani said on The Howard Stern Show about their union.