The Voice wrapped an emotional 26th season last week, with Sofronio Vasquez nabbing a deserving victory for himself and his coach Michael Bublé. Now, as we start to look ahead to the 2025 TV schedule, there’s much speculation about which of the mentors might return to the Big Red Chairs in Season 28 and beyond. After Snoop Dogg addressed his future on The Voice at the finale, a source is alleging that Gwen Stefani may be following in her husband’s footsteps and calling it quits.
Lots of tears were spilled by the coaches of The Voice this season, with Uncle Snoop breaking down on a number of occasions and tissues regularly being passed back and forth amongst the panel members. The show is often an emotional experience for its coaches — so much so that Ariana Grande said she couldn’t do it again — but something about Gwen Stefani’s eighth turn as a coach seemed to really affect her, as an insider told The Sun she was “crying a lot this season.” The source continued:
She has said several times while filming that she’s even more of an ‘emotional wreck’ this season than she ever has been. It was nonstop emotions, crying throughout this entire journey but you can tell it’s mostly rooted in joy and deep pride for the work she’s done.
Apparently Gwen Stefani was crying a lot of happy tears, but was she simply being present for her team members, or was she getting emotional because she was already thinking about leaving the show again? The insider pointed out that the No Doubt singer hasn’t made any official decision regarding her future with The Voice, but there’s a chance Blake Shelton might play into it when she does. They said:
She never outright said she was done with the show but it seems like she’s quitting, yeah. She’s done I think. Gwen wants to spend more time with her family now that Blake is also off the show. She really found a second home in Oklahoma and seeing Blake walk away from the show and prioritize his own music and their family life, I think made her realize what her next chapter can look like.
I’m sure Gwen Stefani has been enjoying having her husband of three years Blake Shelton around more often since he left The Voice after Season 23, and maybe she is looking to spend more time with him (or even to hit The Road with him on his upcoming singing competition).
However, would that really keep her from returning to The Voice? Blake Shelton’s been gone for three seasons, and his wife has coached on two of them. Shelton once said Gwen Stefani had even worried that the show wouldn’t want her after he was gone, so I wonder why that would influence her decision now.
The only thing we really know for sure is that of the Season 26 coaches, Michael Bublé is the only one guaranteed to be coming back. He will try to defend his victory in Season 27 against John Legend, Kelsea Ballerini and returning OG coach Adam Levine. We don’t have too long to wait for that fun to begin, either, because The Voice is set to return to NBC on Monday, February 3.
