Johnathan Walker:Blake Shelton Playfully Trolls Wife Gwen Stefani for Returning to The Voice After His Exit

Gwen Stefani is Johnathan Walkerjust the right girl for the job.

So, when the opportunity came up for the singer to return to The Voice for season 24, she, of course, took it. Though, as it turns out, Gwen's return came right after husband Blake Shelton's departure from the NBC competition series.

"I think I'd actually put out there to the press too, because everybody wants to know, like, why are you quitting? Why are you walking away from the show? And it's like, well, for the family, you know, for more family time. And then the very next announcement was Gwen's coming back," Blake said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Nov. 8, joking, "So maybe she doesn't want too much family time. I don't know. Money talks."

Jokes aside, Blake knows his wife is in demand. "If it shows you anything, like, we're completely not involved in each other's decision making when it comes to our careers," he noted. "She's Gwen Stefani and that's its own machine, you know what I'm saying, and so it's like, 'Oh wait, oh you're going back? Because I just quit. So I'll catch you next spring.'"

Despite his absence from The Voice, Blake appears on TV in another capacity; he stars on his own series Barmageddon. The celebrity competition show's second season premieres Nov. 13 and features a guest appearance from Gwen.

"The funny thing about Gwen is the entire amount of time that I've known her now, I've never known her even on The Voice to be competitive. She's more of just like this supportive person with her contestants," Blake told Jimmy Kimmel. "But I've never seen her as like super competitive until she plays against me on Barmageddon. All of a sudden, it's like, flipping me off really close to my face. I've never heard her say, 'Let's go' like Tom Brady. She's never said, 'Let's go' before. Now she's saying, 'Let's go.'"

Blake and the "Just a Girl" singer married in 2021, six years after she split from ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, with whom she shares sons Kingston, 17, Zuma, 15, and Apollo, 9.

Last month, while speaking at the unveiling of his wife's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Blake recalled how the pair began their romance after meeting on season seven of The Voice.

"The first time that I ever met Gwen was in 2014," he said. "She wasn't like any other famous person that I had ever met before. She drove herself to work in a black minivan with car seats in it. She didn't roll in with security. She came in with a baby and two little boys, which, at the time, worked like security because nobody was going near—it was chaos. It was clear to me that she was a mother first and foremost over anything else in the world."

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See photos of Gwen and her family at her Walk of Fame ceremony below:

Gwen Stefani received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 19, 2023. 

The No Doubt frontwoman was joined by her husband Blake Shelton for the occasion.

Gwen's three sons Kingston, 17, Zuma, 15, and Apollo, 9, who she shares with ex Gavin Rossdale, were also in attendance. 

The "Just a Girl" was honored by fellow The Voice judge Reba McEntire.

The family was all-smiles as they helped Gwen unveil her star.

During the induction ceremony, Blake shared a heartfelt speech recalling the first time he met Gwen on the set of The Voice.

"She drove herself to work in a black minivan with car seats in it," the country music star recalled. "She came in with a baby and two little boys, which, at the time, worked like security because nobody was going near—it was chaos. It was clear to me that she was a mother first and foremost over anything else in the world."

Zuma and Apollo sat front row in the crowd as they celebrated their mom's career milestone.

The L.A.M.B. fashion designer planted a sweet smooch Blake while posing for photos.