Grazia UK (Sept. 24th 2007)
Gwen: “Yes, Gavin and I have had rough patches”
Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale seem to be bucking the trend for celebrity nano-marriages. So how do they manage it? It’s not easy, Gwen tells Grazia on the eve of her UK tour. You should see her phone bill…
[via nxdscrapbook]
“We see each other here and there,” Gwen Stefani says of her husband of five years, Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale. “But we’re always on the phone. He understands what being on the road is like and so he knows how to cheer me up when he senses that I’m tired and a bit down. It would be much tougher to do this if I didn’t have a man like that in my life.” Having been on a grueling world tour for the past six months that has seen her sell out arenas from South America to New Zealand, Gwen know all about coping with long-distance love. In fact, she recently confessed she’s envious of the close relationship the couple’s 15-month son has forged with Gavin, whom she married in a pink and white Galliano dress in 2002. But today she’s in a philosophical mood: “I don’t think it’s any harder for me than it is for any woman who has a career and a family,” she shrugs. “As you get older, you’re better able to balance all the ups and downs and deal with tensions that come between you and your partner.”
And this star couple know about tensions. Their relationship was tested to the limits back in 2004, when it was revealed that Gavin was actually the biological father of his godchild – model Daisy Lowe, now 18. Daisy’s mother Pearl, has claimed Gavin has had no contact with his daughter since the discovery, but Gwen remains tight-lipped and its the only topic she refuses to discuss in interviews. “Gavin and I have had our rough patches,” she concedes, “but now we know how to live together and be together much better. That comes with time, patience and just being there for the other person.”
Time, however, is something Gwen doesn’t have an abundance of right now. Since having Kingston, the 37-year-old has managed to combine breastfeeding with releasing her second solo album, promoting her fashion line L.A.M.B and launching a new perfume – and that’s on top of the sold-out arenas to play. In fact, since she took an extended break from her band, No Doubt, in 2004 to release her debut solo album Love Angel Music Baby, she’s barely stopped.
Although she might appear to be a superwoman in ever present crimson lipstick, Gwen admits that, in her own time, she’s far quieter and more introspective than you might expect. “I think about things very deeply,” she confesses. “I can go through moments when I’m down and a bit despondent and I don’t really know why… My saving grace is having Kingston with me. That grounds me and makes me feel so much more secure, just having him in my arms and seeing him laugh and smile.”
And the good news is that fresh from taking to the catwalk with his mum at New York Fashion Week, the always immaculately dressed Kingston is coming to Britain in a special cot on her tour bus. Indeed, motherhood is the one thing Gwen seems truly in awe of; the one thing, perhaps, that she might be willing to slow down for. “It’s been something I’ve been wanting ever since I was a teenager,” she says. “I’ve always known that one day I would start a family and finally that dream has come true. But you need to be in the right place emotionally and spiritually, we’ve become a family, it’s going to be interesting to see how things evolve from here. I know I want more children, it’s just a question of when really.”
First, Gwen has a tour to finish, before returning to LA to start her next L.A.M.B collection. Inspired by watching her mum make clothes for her as a child, the range is Gwen’s chance to indulge and lifelong passion for fashion that even saw her make her own high-school prom dress. “I’ve always wanted to do something with that side of my creativity, but when music took over my life I wasn’t able to focus on that anymore. But I always tried to find interesting clothes and looks whenever I went on tour or did videos. My fashion line was something I was going to do sooner or later, and finally it came together and sales have been really good. Almost too good – [now] I have to come up with new designs and concepts!”
In the flesh, the star is softer and warmer than in her videos; and she’s not quite so perfect under the heavy make-up she usually performs in – but is somehow prettier for it. Her pancake-flat stomach (she bats away compliments modestly) and long, sinewy limbs catch our attention too – it’s hard to believe she’s had so much as a carbohydrate, let alone a baby. “The best thing about touring is that I’m back to my pre-baby weight!” she laughs. “Last time I was touring I was pregnant and felt horrible on stage. It was very tough. This time it’s much easier. It’s performing in front of thousands of fans one moment, and playing with my little boy the next. Plus, I don’t have to tidy up when I’m staying in all these fabulous hotel suites! This is the life I’ve wanted so I’ve just got to pace myself, conserve my energy when I’m not on stage, and enjoy the journey I’m on.”
Yes, this is a woman who doesn’t intend to waste a second: “I could see myself staying at home playing with Kingston,” she begins, “but after a week, I’d go crazy and wonder why I wasn’t doing something.” She smiles brightly. “I have a fantastic life and I’m never going to complain about how success is a drag. It’s not.” How very refreshing.