Gwen Stefani opens up about which ‘The Voice’ costar helped her regain her confidence

The end of a relationship can go hand-in-hand with incredibly difficult emotions and experiences. No one knows that better than Gwen Stefani, who announced her divorce with Gavin Rossdale in August of this year after 13 years of marriage. In fact, Gwen has had a crazy year, with a new single, new makeup collaboration with Urban Decay, and a new boyfriend — all on top of taking care of her one-year-old, Apollo. It took some time for her to regain her confidence, she told InStyle for their December cover story — but one of her co-stars from The Voice really helped her back on her feet.

Pharrell Williams isn’t only her co-star, but her friend, Gwen told InStyle. “He helped me with a lot of stuff,” she explained. “I was in a closed-off period before that – I couldn’t write, and I didn’t feel confident. There were hard times before the baby, personally, that were just not good. And then having Apollo, and being on the show, and being refreshed: It was just like, ‘Whoa!’”

The last few years of Gwen’s marriage were particularly difficult to get through — especially in 2012, during the recording of her album with No Doubt, Push and Shove.

And on top of that, she was battling her identity crisis that came after motherhood, she told InStyle.

“In the beginning, I didn’t want to think of myself as a mother,” she said. “I was like, ‘Wait a minute! Ain’t no hollaback girl is who I am!’ I had to learn to accept it. . . Being a mother and having a career – those are just different roles you play. You’re still the same person you were before, but now you’re more because you’re a mother, too, with a lot to do.”

Gwen’s struggles didn’t end there. Breakups are hard enough as it is, but ending a 13-year marriage with three kids? That’s a massive obstacle to overcome, especially as a high-profile celebrity with your every move underneath a microscope. “I don’t have anything to hide. Everybody knows that I was married forever and now I’m not,” she told Marie Claire last week. “On the way to the studio, that first time, I didn’t want to go. I wanted to be in my bed, crying. And I did cry all the way down Santa Monica. ‘What am I doing? Why am I doing this?’”

But now, Gwen has bounced back. She’s on top of the world as a successful artist, having moved on from a difficult end to a long relationship and dating new boyfriend Blake Shelton.

It’s all coming up roses, Gwen told InStyle: “I’m in a really positive place now.”

Crazy-famous celebrity or not — we all get by with a little help from our friends.

(Image via Twitter.)