In October, The Voice broke the news that pop superstar Gwen Stefani won't be back as a coach on the show for Season 18. Her departure came as a surprise to many fans, as Stefani had returned just a season earlier to replace longtime coach Adam Levine, after previously coaching during Season 9 and Season 12.

While many fans are sad to see Stefani go, no one is sadder than Blake Shelton, who has been dating Stefani since 2015. At a recent press conference, Shelton fielded a question about whether, as the show's longest-running and only original coach, he might have some extra pull to keep Stefani on board.

"I don't know that I have any power with that, but I definitely have a loud voice when it comes to that, and I make it known that I don't ever want her to leave," Shelton replied with a laugh. "But I also know that, at the same time, the show needs to keep reinventing itself. The only way to really do that is to change the coaches out a little bit every season. As long as it's not me, right?!"

Still, Shelton thinks Stefani will be back at some point. "We're not seeing the last of Gwen on that show, by any means. I wouldn't say we've seen the last of anybody who's ever been on that show," he admits.

"They've said from the beginning that once somebody's a coach on The Voice, they're part of the family," Shelton adds. "[They] just try to keep it new, but also rotate people's favorites in and out."

Plus, he says, Stefani has other career business to attend to in the coming months: "She still has to finish up her Vegas residency, so she does have other commitments," he points out.

"It just worked out, with Adam leaving the show, to where she could jump in this season," Shelton continues. "And thank God that worked out, because we were not that far away from filming the Season 17 blind [auditions] when that went down."

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