Happy 40th Birthday, Blake Shelton: A Look Back At His Momentous Year in Music, Love and Life

Could he be in a more different place than he was just a year ago?

Blake Shelton's 40th birthday Saturday fittingly caps off an unforgettable year of personal and professional change for the country singer. 

Less than a year ago he was in the middle of a divorce, but within a matter of months he had discovered a new relationship with Gwen Stefani and creative inspiration for his latest album If I'm Honest, his life making a turn as unexpected as the one his malfunctioning judge's chair made that time on The Voice.

But with every unexpected turn so begins a new journey, and Gwen and Blake's romance is a testament to just that. Both of them found love amidst heartbreak, their chemistry palpable on TV, in photos and in print. 

"Gwen saved my life last year," Blake said to CMT's Katie Cook. He recalled the beginning of their relationship, explaining, "It's not something anybody could've seen coming besides God I guess because it doesn't look like it would make sense... It just makes the most perfect sense for us and where we're at in our lives."

 

And while some couples may finish each other's sentences, this dynamic duo upped the ante when Gwen finished Blake's song, "Go Ahead and Break My Heart."

Blake told Today, "I actually wrote that song, started it just to try to impress her. And I sent it to her just half done...and she wrote the next verse and sent it back to me. And so it was like, oh, we've got a song together." Since its completion, the smitten duo has performed the tune on both The Voice and the 2016 Billboard Music Awards. Although their respective musical genres could not be more different, Blake and Gwen proved that when it comes to collaborating on a song, love transcends all.

I may have gone overboard... pic.twitter.com/JCWjC7aVu8

— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) March 18, 2016

Shelton has further proven he's the same rugged yet gentlemanly Oklahoma boy we all fell in love with when The Voice first premiered. He's his girlfriend's No. 1 fan, buying five copies of her latest album. For his 40th birthday dinner, he'd much rather have a McDonald's Big Mac instead of yellowtail jalapeño (or any sushi for that matter) at Nobu Malibu. And he finds the joy in everything (except trying sushi, maybe), from helping strangers to hanging out with Stefani and her son Kingston.

To quote Blake, if we're being honest...

We're predicting that this next year is going to be one of his best yet.