Gwen Stefani knows better than anyone that being in love is like walking through the spiderwebs: one wrong move or misstep and you'll find yourself being devoured.
But true to form, in spite of the seemingly insurmountable odds stacked against her, Gwen has risen like a phoenix from the ashes — thus proving that finding true love is always possible, regardless of age.
People are always trying to tell you what to do, where to go, what to eat, and how to look. You'd think things would get easier with age, but in reality, things only get harder and harder.
If you aren't married you better get married, and if you are married you'd better stay married. For God help the lowly lady who isn't able to keep her husband's interests and wanton desires in check.
As fans will no doubt recall, Gwen was married to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale for 13 years. The couple met while performing at a charity concert for KROQ Radio, and went on to share four beautiful children with one another.
Seemingly intent on becoming a walking cliche, Gavin was accused of having a three-year affair with the family nanny. Some reports even went as far as to assert that Gavin would bring the nanny on tour with him and have sex with her in the band's bus.
"It was the beginning of hell," she said during an interview with Harper's Bazaar. "Like six, seven, eight months of torture, trying to figure out this big secret."
Blake and Gwen had become close friends during their time spent as judges on The Voice. As Gwen explained to The New York Times, she and he were going through "literally the exact same thing in literally the exact same time frame."
Gwen admitted during a segment on the TODAY Show that she never intended on finding love again. But once she allowed herself to be open and vulnerable to the possibility — love found her.
When a man gets divorced and starts pursuing women 20 years his junior, nobody bats an eye. Yet for some reason, if a woman were to do the same thing, she gets labeled a cougar; a cradle-robber, or an array of other equally insulting nicknames.
It's a lose-lose situation for the vast majority of women in our society. But as Gwen once so eloquently sang out — "It's my life, and it's now or never."
"I feel so excited that I have someone in my life that now I have a chance at happiness for a long time to come," she told TODAY. "It’s just a blessing, the whole thing. It’s a miracle."
Love will find you if you give it the chance to do so because love by its very nature wants to be found. By allowing society to dictate your romantic endeavors, you could be shutting yourself off to a world of possibilities. So be brave, dig deep, and let love in.
