Blake Shelton takes his stepfather duties 'very seriously' after engagement to Gwen Stefani

When Blake Shelton proposed to Gwen Stefani last year, he made sure he had the approval of her three children whom she shares with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale. The singer continues to take his stepfather's duties very seriously, as the kids are a huge part of his life.

In a recent interview with KFROG's "The Ride with Kimo & Heather," Shelton said he plans on adding "stepdad" to his list of titles which include Grammy-nominated singer, country crooner, and a coach on NBC's "The Voice."

"There's definitely nothing easy about it," the 44-year-old said about parenting his fiancée's three sons- Kington, 14, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, 6. However, he takes inspiration from his own stepfather whom he considers as one of his heroes.

"I love my stepfather, and I looked up to him, and he's like a father to me, so I have a good inspiration in my life for how to do this and the kind of stepdad I want to be," Shelton said.

While he takes his responsibility of being a father figure in the kids' lives very seriously, he also has a "blast with it."

"I'm not gonna lie. I don't take it so serious that I'm not enjoying this time, because I really am, especially now that we're five years into this thing. I can't imagine my life without these kids now," the "God's Country" singer said.

Stefani herself gave a shout-out to Shelton's parenting skills in an Instagram post last year, thanking him for "helping me raise these boys!!" During an interview with "Today" in July 2020, Shelton was asked about Stefani's tribute, after which he confessed the responsibility initially scared him.

"That's a scary moment for me, because it's one thing for me to be with the kids all the time and be their buddy. But then you do have to consider after a while, that they're starting to listen to things that you say, and there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that, which is new to me," he said.

Shelton and Stefani have been together for over five years since they met on the sets of "The Voice," which happened soon after they separated from their respective spouses Miranda Lambert and Gavin Rossdale. This is the third marriage for Shelton, whose first wife was Kaynette Williams.