Gwen Stefani Once Ditched Ex-Husband Gavin Rossdale for Pharrell Williams

Gwen Stefani and music producer Pharrell Williams have churned out more than a few hits together thanks to their frequent collaborations. And there was one point Stefani wanted to work with Williams so badly it came at the cost of alone time with her ex.

Gwen Stefani chose Pharrell Williams over 10 days alone with Gavin Rossdale

Stefani recognizes that she and mega-producer Pharrell Williams have made quite the pairing over the years. Williams and his group The Neptunes have been responsible for producing hits like “Hollaback Girl” and “Yummy.”  

On The Late Late Show With James Corden, Stefani reflected on what it was like working with Williams for the first time. To the singer, the experience was a true meeting of the minds.

“I’m going to cry. I feel like it was a cultural collision. At first, we were coming from such different worlds but yet we were so similar in so many ways,” Stefani said.

Stefani further asserted that they were able to bond over their passion for art.

“We had the same interests, the same… just love for life and art and music and for telling a story and getting our feelings out,” she said.

Stefani was such a fan of Williams that, at one point, she chose spending time with him over her husband. Stefani was married to ex-husband Gavin Rossdale at the time. Given that she was reaching the pinnacle of her fame, the No Doubt singer found herself consistently busy. She was finally able to set aside her hectic schedule to spend some quality time with Rossdale. But when Williams was interested in teaming up with her, Stefani couldn’t resist.

“I was like: ‘Wow, that’s very ambitious,'” she once said according to Irish Examiner. “On the one break I might have to hang out with Gavin, to hang out with you for 10 days and write songs again? But it’s such an opportunity to work with him, so I did it.”

Gwen Stefani wanted her kids to know that she hung out with Pharrell Williams

Stefani credited Williams for being a very important part of her growth as an artist.

“He’s one of those people who always points me in the right direction. It’s not like we’ve ever been that close, it’s just that he’s 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,” Stefani once said according to The Neptunes website.

But personally knowing Williams also earned Stefani brownie points from her children. Her kids were already huge fans of the producer.

“I wrote him [in 2014], because my boys were obsessed with ‘Happy,’ and he wrote me back saying, ‘Do you want to come play at Coachella?’ And I said, well, I just literally gave birth,” she said.

But Stefani couldn’t resist working with Williams again, if only to flaunt their friendship in front of her kids.

“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 ‘Hollaback Girl.’ 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,” she said.

Williams was also the reason why Stefani ended up with one of her most poplar gigs as well.

“And then I got the call about The Voice, and they were like, by the way, Pharrell is doing it. I was like, what? You know what, yeah! I want to do it,'” she said.