Gwen Stefani Opens Up About the "Struggle" She Faced Over the Past Few Years

Gwen Stefani covers the December issue of InStyle, and in her interview with the magazine, she opened up about balancing her family life with her career. Gwen filed for divorce from Gavin Rossdale in early August after 13 years of marriage, and they have three kids together, Kingston, 9; Zuma, 7; and Apollo; 20 months. Since their split, she's opened up about the divorce, and this week, it was confirmed that she and Blake Shelton are dating.

Of motherhood, Gwen told InStyle, "In the beginning, I didn't want to think of myself as a mother. I was like, 'Wait a minute! Ain't no hollaback girl is who I am!' I had to learn to accept it." She added, "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 also talked about her experience recording the 2012 No Doubt album, Push and Shove. "I didn't tour at all. But I did record the No Doubt album, which was super hard. I was torn the whole time," she said. "Every day I would take the kids to school, drive to Santa Monica, work on the album, and then I'd think, 'Oh my god, if I don't leave by 2:30, I'm not gonna get home in time for dinner.' And Gavin being on tour . . ." Acknowledging both the good and the bad, Gwen added, "I'm not gonna say there weren't some incredible moments making that album. But it was a lot of knocking my head against the wall. A lot of struggle."

The singer said that she's "in a really positive place now." She called out her time on The Voice and fellow judge Pharrell Williams, saying, "He helped me with a lot of stuff. 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!'"

See more of Gwen Stefani's interview in the December issue of InStyle, which hits newsstands on Nov. 13.