Romantic past! Blake Shelton had a high-profile marriage to ex-wife Miranda Lambert before getting engaged to Gwen Stefani, but who is the country singer’s first wife? He was previously married to Kaynette Williams. See details on their relationship below.
Blake and Kaynette, who met as teenagers in their hometown of Ada, Oklahoma, wed in November 2003 during a small ceremony in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Their nuptials happened while the country crooner was on break from touring with Toby Keith. In fact, the “Ol’ Red” singer’s bride actually served as his road manager during the early days of his career. Sadly, they divorced in 2006.
“I knew Kaynette was the one,” the “God’s Country” artist told Country Weekly after his first wedding. “Just because, I can’t explain it, I can’t say it’s because we get along or because of the way she looks. It’s just something I feel – you know what I mean? It’s nothing more than just knowing you’re right.”
Blake briefly talked about their split during an interview with Men’s Journal in 2013. “Looking back, it was just the wrong thing all around… I married my buddy,” he said at the time about Kaynette.
The “Hillbilly Bone” singer was still married to his first wife when he fell for Miranda, who was engaged to country singer Jeff Allen McManus at the time.
“I’ve never had that kind of experience with anybody,” Blake confessed about a duet the two performed together during an episode of VH1’s Behind the Music. “I was a married guy, you know? Standing up there and singing with somebody and going, ‘Man, this shouldn’t be happening.'”
“I knew he was married,” Miranda told People in 2011. “I knew better, like, this is off-limits.”
Their chemistry was undeniable. Blake broke things off with Kaynette while Miranda ended things with her then-fiancé. The country singers were married in May 2011 in Boerne, Texas. However, their newlywed bliss intruded on Kaynette’s fresh start in Oklahoma.
“After Blake and I split up, I moved from Tennessee back to Oklahoma,” Kaynette told The Enquirer in a 2011 interview. “But then Blake and Miranda moved back there to a neighboring town, and it just felt like Oklahoma wasn’t big enough for all of us.”
Kaynette now lives in Kansas and works as a teacher. She is married to rodeo champion Cody Joe Scheck.
Blake and Miranda’s marriage was full of ups and downs, including each of them accusing the other of infidelity, before they divorced in 2015. During that time, the “Happy Anywhere” artist was a coach on The Voice and sought comfort in his fellow costars. He stayed at Adam Levine’s house for awhile as he bounced back from his public breakup and found a friend in Gwen, who was going through her own high-profile divorce from Gavin Rossdale after 20 years together.
“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,” Blake told Billboard in 2016 about falling in love with the former No Doubt singer. The Oklahoma native popped the question the Gwen in October 2020, and they are now engaged.
As for Miranda, she married former NYPD officer Brendan McLoughlin in February 2019. They now live in Tennessee together.