14 DAY TRIAL // A little over a week ago, Gwen Stefani debuted a new song as a surprise for fans gathered at the MasterCard Priceless Surprises concert in New York City. She also promised that the song, “I Used to Love You,” could be her next single, which turned out to be the case.
Because the release is the first one since her split from husband of 13 years Gavin Rossdale, there was a lot of talk about how she’d written it as a diss for her now-ex. Matt Lauer grilled her on this on her recent appearance on NBC’s The Today Show, as the video below will show.
A very personal project
Asked whether her divorce from Gavin inspired her in any way in writing “I Used to Love You,” which comes with an equally emotional music video, Gwen’s first reaction was to dodge the question altogether.
Pharrell Williams, who was with her on the show to promote the current season of The Voice, together with Blake Shelton and Adam Levine, pushed her to use the platform to set the record straight. And that’s exactly what she did.
This is the first time that Gwen gets to make music that reflects what she’s going through almost “in real time,” she says. With her previous album, she drew on real life for inspiration, but it was another 3 years until it came out, and then another 2 on the road to promote it.
“I wrote that song like a couple weeks ago, and then I sat in front of a camera in a dressing room - randomly not making a video, just to do like some video for the screens behind me - and then it went out and it was the video and it’s like all very real,” she says.
That’s her way of saying that she’s not trying to monetize on the divorce by deliberately writing breakup songs: this is really how she feels right now. And if you see the official music video for “I Used to Love You” and you assume she’s acting because drama sells, you’re wrong: it’s all real.
Divorce is a closed chapter
This is probably the most we’ll get from Gwen about her divorce from Gavin, especially now that it’s almost a done deal. A short while ago, word got out that they had reached an understanding regarding financial issues and custodial details, and that they had managed to keep all discussions friendly for the sake of their 3 children.
Gwen and Gavin did not sign a prenup when they married, which meant that, under California law, their assets would have been divided equally in 2 if they split after 10 years. Gwen is the highest earner in the family: her net worth is estimated as 6 times bigger than his.
Legally speaking, Gavin would have been entitled to her money, but reports say he chose to settle for less than 50% just so they could keep the divorce proceedings short and relatively drama-free.