Blake Shelton Talks Divorce and Current Romance: 'Gwen Saved my Life'

— -- The usually playful Blake Shelton got a bit serious and very candid for Billboard's latest cover story.

In his most recent interview, the country star addressed everything from the dark days of his divorce to his outspokenness on Twitter to, of course, his current romance with Gwen Stefani.

Shelton's latest album, "If I'm Honest," chronicles the emotional roller coaster that has been the last year and a half of his life.

"It is my divorce record, but maybe even more than that, it's my happy, falling-in-love record too," Shelton said of the album, admitting that through it, listeners can "learn some facts of [his] divorce."

In discussing some of the album's sadder songs, Shelton opened up about his divorce from his wife of four years, Miranda Lambert.

"I was at rock bottom, in the middle of hell," he told Billboard of the breakup. Nevertheless, four months later, it was confirmed that Shelton had a new girlfriend -- "Voice" costar Gwen Stefani.

"Gwen saved my life," the country singer said. "Who else on earth could understand going through a high-profile divorce from another musician? You can't even imagine the similarities in our divorces."

It was their similar circumstances, in fact, that brought the two together.

Shelton told Billboard about the moment when he revealed to the cast of "The Voice" that he and Miranda were splitting.

"I won't forget that day," he said. "I looked over at Gwen -- who I didn't really know -- and she had these huge tears in her eyes. I thought, 'Wow, she feels super bad for me!'"

Shelton soon learned that Stefani, unbeknownst at that point to anyone other than family, was also going through a divorce. Shelton and Stefani began looking to each other for understanding and comfort, until weekly check-in emails became frequent texts.

"Next thing I know, I wake up and she's all I care about, and I'm wondering if she feels the same about me," Shelton said of the days leading up to the couple's recognizing that their friendship had become a romance.

Though Shelton admits that the two couldn't appear more different on paper, they have become one of Hollywood's most buzzed-about couples.

Despite the recent ups and downs of his love life, Shelton seems to have stayed true to himself. He has no apologies about his tendency toward outspokenness both in person and on social media.

"I am who I am," he said. "Sometimes that gets mistaken for 'Blake Shelton is an a------.' I'm not. I just don't want to be dishonest with anybody."