During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Blake Shelton joked that he's farming for the sake of a "single-income family" after his departure from —and Gwen Stefani's return to— The Voice.
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Shelton also pointed out the irony that after telling the press that he was leaving the singing competition series "for more family time," Stefani was announced as a returning coach.
"Maybe she doesn't want too much family time," Shelton quipped.
Shelton got serious briefly to put over Stefani's creative empire.
"We're completely not involved in each other's decision making when it comes to our own careers," Shelton said. "She's Gwen Stefani, and that's its own machine."
During a September interview on Today, Stefani acknowledged the Shelton-sized hole on the set of The Voice.
"It's really different being on the show without him," Stefani said while being interviewed alongside the rest of this coming season's coaching roster: Niall Horan, John Legend and Shelton's replacement, fellow country star Reba McEntire.
In a chat with People about the end of his 23-season run on the singing competition series, Shelton revealed that Stefani was surprised by the offer to return to the show.
"When I finally came to the conclusion that I was going to call it a day last year, you know, she even said, 'Well, I guess they probably won't have me back ever again'," Shelton said. "And I go, 'What are you talking [about]? They invited you to be a coach for seasons before you and I were ever thing.' And she goes, 'Oh, yeah, that's right. They did do that.' I go. 'Yeah, I'm pretty sure they're still going to want Gwen Stefani to be a coach.' Then sure enough, you know, she's already going to be back and she was excited to get the call."
