Redbook (February 2012)

Basic Blake

Why is The Voice star so perfect to headline our Hot Husbands issue? He's got a potty mouth and a huge heart. He drives a pickup and will never trade his Wranglers for skinny jeans. He can shoot a gun and he'd take a bullet for his wife, Miranda Lambert. Plus, he gives great hugs. 

The best part of my interview with Blake Shelton happens right after I turn off my tape recorder. As I leave his trailer on the Los Angeles set of The Voice, the lanky country superstar shoots me a sly smile, focuses his blue eyes on me, folds me into his 6-foot-5-inch self for a hug, and whispers, "I love you." I'm totally caught off guard. Quip-free. Speechless. If I hadn't seen the 35-year-old musician working his magic on everyone around us during our four hours together, I might have experienced actual knee weakness.

But, famous bad boy that Blake is, he's just teasing me for all my questions about his soft side. I couldn't help but ask after watching him on The Voice. The Oklahoma native, who could have been a misfit next to the show's pop-star coaches -- Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, and Cee Lo Green -- quickly emerged as its heart-and-soul favorite. At the end, he put it all out there for his protégés, going so far as to enlist his wife, Miranda Lambert, to join Dia Frampton for her finale, and springing for the Phillip Lim dress she wore because it went over the wardrobe budget. Combine that guileless enthusiasm with his stratospheric success (10 number-one country hits and a truckbed's worth of music awards) and his brilliant choice of bride (he married Miranda last May) and Blake is one sizzling hot husband.

Kicking back in his trailer, wearing his signature uniform of 36-inseam Wrangler jeans and crocodile boots, Blake makes it clear that he doesn't take his success or heartthrob status too seriously. "What you need to know about me is that I always just wanted to be a country singer," he says in a deep Southern drawl, spiked with constant profanity. "I didn't choose the path of television or being on magazine covers. You know, you can get so wrapped up in it. I can go hang out with Adam, Christina, and the guys and have a big party where it's like, 'Yeah, it's L.A., bitch!' But then I just want to go home and get into my truck. Being in Oklahoma with Miranda is what makes me really happy." Here, without a publicist in sight, Blakegives us the unfiltered lowdown on his life outside the spotlight, his drunken, late-night tweets, and why he'll never, ever buy Miranda a sentimental Valentine's Day card. By the end, you'll understand why I told him (apologies to my own hot husband), "I love you too!"

REDBOOK: You've been called the spiritual conscience of The Voice…

BLAKE SHELTON: [Laughing hysterically] Sorry about that!

RB: And also, America's favorite judge. Are you the Paula Abdul of the show?

BS: You mean because of my alcohol consumption? Okay, really, I think that's because of the relationship I formed last year with [contestants] Dia and Xenia, the two young ladies I mentored for the finals. It was like I was a big brother or a fatherly figure. They were like family to me. I know I surprised Miranda. At one point she said to me, "I never thought of you that way; I didn't know you had that inside of you." And you know what? I didn't either.

RB: When you first started on the show, how did it feel being the lone country voice on a panel of pop stars?

BS: I remember sitting in this room and everyone was talking and laughing. I felt a little like the black sheep. It wasn't until [executive producer] Mark Burnett set up a dinner about three days into production, when it was just the four of us sitting down together, that we clicked. It forced us to move out of our comfort zones. All of a sudden I was having conversations with people I had only read about in tabloids, and they're just normal people. And they know who I am, and that I [was] getting married to Miranda, and they know who she is. It was surreal. Over those first few weeks, there was enough of a bond for us all to rip on each other, and then during commercial breaks we were high-fiving one another. 

RB: America is riveted when that red chair lights up and swivels around. How fun is that for you?

BS: Everybody loves the chair! Last year, Miranda came to the set one day and -- she never, ever does stuff like this -- she asked to have her picture taken in my red chair. And trust me, Miranda doesn't think anything is really cool!

RB: You're known to have quite the potty mouth. How much do you edit yourself?

BS: Stop right there. If you follow me on Twitter, then you know. There needs to be an app that edits what I say versus what I want to say. Sometimes I'll look around and see Mark Burnett off to the side, shaking his head and thinking, How many F-bombs am I going to have to edit out of this? That may be one of the reasons the show works -- because the four of us don't really belong on prime-time, live television, unless we're performing. 

RB: How different is it living in L.A. while taping the show than kicking back in your home state of Oklahoma?

BS: As different as air and water. There is nothing about L.A. I feel comfortable with yet, except when I'm on this set. The only friends I have are in this building. I don't really know anyone else in town. In fact, I don't even know how to get around this town. Last year I did The Tonight Show, and when Jay Leno asked me where I lived, I swear to God, I had no idea how to get there. I pretty much come to work and just wonder when they are going to turn me loose so I can get back to Oklahoma. 

RB: There must be something about Los Angeles you like. 

BS: Well, I'm not going to lie: It's nice when you drive down the street and every girl you see is hot. I mean every girl -- whether she's crossing the street, sleeping on the street. Even the homeless girls are smoking hot! It's like, Oh, my God, I'm gonna lie down next to her on the sidewalk! I think every cute girl is told to move to L.A. someday. So I do like the drive over from my house to the studio.

RB: What do you miss most about home?

BS: I love to deer hunt and fish and drive down the back roads in my truck. All those things basically equal freedom to me -- and not having to return that message or call from my record company or management. At some point, I need to recharge.

RB: Has freedom been the biggest sacrifice of your recent success?

BS: Oh, no question about it. I'm not the kind of person who thrives in "the scene." I know that when this is all over, and I'm no longer cool, I'm going to be just as happy because I'm going to be at home.

RB: Will home always be Oklahoma? 

BS: Yes, 100 percent.

RB: Miranda has said that since you've been on The Voice, she's seen a softer, fuzzier side of you, and that it was nice to know you had "a heart." If she's seeing this for the first time now, how did you ever win her over?

BS: Miranda doesn't want -- and I'm using this for lack of a better word -- a wuss. She doesn't want a whipped guy. That's not attractive to her, and honestly, I can't imagine that would be attractive to any girl. I think that's one of the things that's kept us interesting to one another. She's the same way with me. She was my girlfriend and now she's my wife, but my God, she's still Miranda Lambert, and nobody can tell her what to do or boss her around! She's a powerful, powerful personality -- in a good way.

RB: What was it about her -- 

BS: Her boobies! [Laughs]

RB: ...that made you realize you wanted to spend the rest of your life with her?

BS: I dunno, how do you pinpoint stuff like that? I never set out at any point in my life and said to myself, "I want this kind of girl." I met Miranda, and she just was that girl. I'm screwed now that I've met her, because I don't know who could be better for me in my eyes and my mind. That's just how she's always been for me since I met her. Now if I have to think about specific things, I'd say she loves the same things I love. She loves music and does it for a living and is successful at it, and it keeps her busy and prevents us from getting on each other's nerves. We can actually have our own separate lives and still be supportive and understanding of each other. I get it. I thought we were finally going to be home together for a week, and an opportunity came up for her to be on the Today show or something like that. It was sad, and I hated it, but I said, "Naw, go ahead, baby! You better do that because your album's coming out, and I understand." It's important for us to have somebody who gets all that. 

RB: Does it feel different being Miranda's husband versus her boyfriend?

BS: I think just knowing you're married and having that in the back of your mind all the time -- it sounds official, but it doesn't really feel any different. We don't do anything differently than we did before. She still has her ranch, I still have mine, and we still haven't decided when we're going to build a house together, where it's going to be, or what it's going to look like. Our relationship and the nuts and bolts of how we work together haven't changed at all. 

RB: I heard that you asked Miranda's father for her hand in marriage. Does that speak to your old-fashioned side or the Southern gentleman in you?

BS: I guess it's sort of old-fashioned and what you're supposed to do, so I did. But also, Miranda has a really unique family, and they're very, very tight. Miranda is her dad's world. I knew, out of respect for him, that I wanted to talk to him, tell him my plans, and get his permission. I love Rick, and we have a very strong relationship. Miranda's told me that, God forbid, if we ever break up, she knows I'm going to get her family in the divorce! The second I met her family, we clicked.

RB: What valuable advice did you get from Miranda's dad?

BS: It was more about him wishing me luck. The advice was essentially, "If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you."

RB: Has Miranda tried to tame you at all, or you her?

BS: I think she has probably tamed me a bit. Or maybe it's because I'm 35, and you start to calm down anyway. But I think a lot of it has to do with feeling settled and lucky to have ended up with the person I really wanted to be with. To me, that's being tamed in the best possible way. You just say to yourself, "I'm done, I'm thrilled, I couldn't be any happier." I think -- and I'm sure Miranda would agree -- the idea of actually "taming" your partner is not our style. We accept and understand each other. Miranda would never want to tame me into being somebody I'm not, and I would never try to do that to her.

RB: Even though you two haven't set up house, do you have a domestic side?

BS: You mean besides shooting the venison together for our wedding? Isn't that romantic? Sure, we've got our domestic sides. Miranda woke up this morning and cooked us breakfast. It's the stupid things that a lot of people wouldn't think twice about that are a big deal for us. So when we're home, she's very domestic, and I am too, as long as it's not deer season. Doing laundry while watching Good Morning America or Say Yes to the Dress, or Miranda cooking dinner for me and me telling her how good it is -- those kinds of things are a major big deal for us. We're still figuring out that part of our lives. It's been a crazy year for both of us.

RB: Wait -- you do laundry?

BS: Yes, but I have no problem living with a mountain of dirty clothes in the middle of the floor. The only reason they ever get washed is because I run out of socks and underwear. I'll even go and buy new ones before I'm willing to do all the laundry. 

RB: Your most recent album, Red River Blue, is not only your most successful, with your first platinum single, but also your most romantic. How much of that was inspired by Miranda?

BS: A lot of it. In the window of time that I was doing this album, I was getting married and ready to put a seal on my future, so I made a record that reflected that. 

RB: So on Valentine's Day, will she be getting a lovey card from you?

BS: No, no, no! That is just not who we are. And on the rare event something like that does happen, it's not one of those cards; it would be more like flowers, and it wouldn't be because it was Valentine's Day. It would be because something special happened between the two of us. If I got her one of those mushy cards, I'd be afraid she'd leave me. In fact, just recently she told me how a friend of hers was saying how much this guy she was dating loved her, and Miranda just wanted to vomit.

RB: Let's talk about your image. How do you feel when they try to slick you up?

BS: I used to resist a lot of that, but I'm trying to open my mind more about it, and I'm getting better about meeting them somewhere in the middle. But I'm not giving up my boots or Wranglers. People have asked me to put on a pair of slacks, khakis, or dress pants, and it's not going to happen.

RB: You've been named one of REDBOOK's hottest husbands --

BS: Are you sure you don't really mean ugly married dude?

RB: ...but what makes you a good husband?

BS: I think you've got to be confident and a little bit of a pushover. Obviously, you've got to be a loyal person. I'm never going to listen to someone trash my wife. I think you have to be willing to take a bullet for somebody if you're going to stand up there, take your vows, and be married to them for the rest of your life.

A WORD FROM THE MRS.

Country megastar Miranda Lambert gives it up for her hubby.

REDBOOK: Blake said you'd laugh at the idea that he's REDBOOK's hot-husband cover star. What do you think?

MIRANDA LAMBERT: I never saw him as a "hot husband," but I understand why women would think that.

RB: What makes him hot to you?

ML: Blake is a real man's man. He's not one of those girly guys at all! He's definitely a country boy, and what you see is what you get.

RB: Can you tell us something not-so-hot about him?

ML: When he's at home, he wears camo, and sometimes the same camo over and over again without washing it.

RB: And that's just the kind of guy you always dreamed of marrying?

ML: I've dated all kinds of guys and didn't know who I'd end up with. But I kind of assumed it would be someone more like my dad than not. And Blake and my dad are a whole lot alike.

RB: Is Blake's bad-boy persona what makes him so irresistible?

ML: I think so, because he is sort of a loose cannon and really, really funny.

RB: Blake says you're a "tough cookie," and that you'd probably leave him if he got you a sweet Valentine's Day card.

ML: [Laughs] You know, it's true. I am just not that girl.

RB: So what are the things he does that are meaningful to you?

ML: Well, one time when I was sick, he went into town and brought me some flowers and chicken noodle soup and crackers. I'll never forget it. On Valentine's Day, he'll take me out on the boat and we'll just relax and have fun together. That's much more our thing. 

RB: Other than hot, what word best describes Blake to you? 

ML: I would say personality. He lights up a room. Seriously, he is the life of every party he goes to.