Gavin Rossdale's Claim That He Doesn't 'Really Co-Parent' With Gwen Stefani Is Relatable To So Many Divorced Parents
Rossdale insists there's major benefits to having different parenting styles.
Instagram Gavin Rossdale was the featured guest on the podcast “Not So Hollywood with Adrianna Costa” on June 15, 2023, discussing his career as a rock star and his role as a father to three sons, Kingston, 17, Zuma, 14, and Apollo, 9, who he shares with ex-wife Gwen Stefani.
Gavin Rossdale’s claim that he doesn’t ‘really co-parent’ with Gwen Stefani is relatable to many divorced parents.
The 57-year-old Bush frontman was asked, “How do you make the whole co-parenting thing work?” Rossdale's answer was honest and accessible, relaying some of the challenges that might arise for divorced parents raising kids in separate households.
“I think you can go one of two ways,” Rossdale said. “You can either do everything together and really co-parent and see how that goes, or you can just parent. And I think we just parent.”
Rossdale explained that he and Stefani, 53, are “really different people,” yet he thinks those differences are beneficial to their kids.
“I don’t think there’s much similarity in the way we bring them up,” he stated. “That gives them an incredible perspective to then choose which pieces of those two lives they’d like to inherit and move on with and which part of themselves comes out of the whole process.”
Rossdale offers a refreshing perspective on parenting, as he recognizes there’s nothing inherently wrong with raising kids in contrasting environments.
“That’s what’s important, is to give them a wide view of things,” Rossdale concluded, exhibiting an element of wisdom around parenting. He stated that he and Stefani “definitely have some particularly opposing views, so I think it’s really helpful for [the kids] to make up their own minds, as they should, as individuals.”
He made it clear that even though his parenting style differs from Stefani’s, their kids are well cared for in both homes and that’s what matters most.
“I know that wherever they are, either house, they’re loved and supported. That’s really what it comes down to. Trying to help them realize what they want, and it’s amazing now, watching them, every week there’s a new development, every week there’s a new thing, so it’s magical for that,” Rossdale said.
Rossdale and Stefani got married in 2002; after 13 years together, Stefani filed for divorce in August 2015, citing “irreconcilable differences.” She announced her relationship with "The Voice" co-star Blake Shelton in November 2015. Rossdale and Stefani’s divorce was finalized in 2016. Stefani married Shelton in July 2021, while Rossdale is reportedly single.
Rossdale believes that the divergences between his parenting and Stefani’s parenting offers their kids a unique benefit: the ability to choose how they want to live.
“They’re now of the age where they’re starting to appreciate which elements of either house they might take into adulthood, and maybe none of it, maybe they’ll sort of, like, become something different,” he said.
Rossdale said that he gets great joy from fatherhood and he’s “super-connected” to his sons.
"The main thing is, I’m really connected to them, that’s all I care about... I think [that’s] really essential; it would be so sad to be any other way,” he said.
Rossdale seems to accept that he and Stefani raise their sons according to their own separate philosophies. He recognizes that while he and his ex-wife parent in different ways, to do so allows their kids to decide for themselves what they value as they grow.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers celebrity gossip, pop culture analysis and all things to do with the entertainment industry.