Gwen Stefani opens up about Gavin Rossdale heartbreak in stunning Marie Claire shoot

Gwen Stefani has stunned on the cover of Marie Claire's Holiday 2017 edition, which comes off the heels of her first festive album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas.

The 48-year-old singer, who is a mother of three, could easily pass for a woman half her age in the stunning editorial display for the glossy publication, shot by Kai Z Feng.

Stefani must be feeling like a very lucky lady after her partner Blake Shelton was crowned People's 2017 Sexiest Man Alive, but wows nevertheless on the front cover in a polka dot, sheer black lace dress by London-based fashion designer David Koma, accessorised with Cartier jewellery.

The sophisticated look is completed with Stefani's trademark peroxide hair styled in a slick-back style as she dons a 60s-inspired make-up look of flawless skin, nude lips and fluttering eyelashes.

Stefani shows off other sides of her personality in the shoot, wearing a tomboyish oversized camouflage puffer jacket by Norma Kamali with black La Perla lingerie in one picture while sporting an elegant white cut-out dress by Roberto Cavali in another.

The former No Doubt singer – who divorced Gavin Rossdale in 2016 after 14 years of marriage – opened up about having her heart broken in the interview with Marie Claire.

On what the split taught her, she said: "What I learned was that my heartbreak was supposed to happen, that it was my purpose to write about and share my story. I met at least 50 to 100 people before each show on my tour and got to hear that my truth and my story translated, and I feel very lucky and honoured knowing that."

Stefani also spoke about how she spends time with Shelton as a couple on his Oklahoma ranch, continuing: "It's very tribal. Blake has a sister, she comes with her kids. We cook and get muddy and dirty. There are ATVs. Being a mother of three boys, it's kind of the perfect place. Everything is real now, whereas before, things didn't seem so real."

Revealing what she would love to do in music next, she said: "I would love to do something like [write a musical], just be a part of a writing thing, because that confidence has come back now, and I know I have something to offer. It used to be such a stress; there was so much doubt in me – now it's like, 'Well, just go and write and write a song.'"

Marie Claire's Holiday 2017 issue was on newsstands 18 November.