Gwen Stefani, Mom Struggles: Singer Says She Feels 'Guilty'

Posted on Dec 17th 2012 2:45PM by Brittany Galla

Gwen Stefani seems like she can do it all -- releasing new music, wife to Gavin Rossdale, and mother to two sons, but even the No Doubt member admits that it's not always easy.

Appearing on the January 2013 cover of VOGUE, Gwen confessed to the mag that finding the time to record the group's sixth album Push and Shove was difficult.

"Getting to the studio and not being able to make it happen, but missing out on being at home, missing out on putting the kids down. What's more important? I felt so guilty," she shared. "[I thought] 'I am letting everyone down in the studio right now; I'm letting down my kids; I'm letting down myself.' Because time was so precious."

Gwen also revealed how hard it was to handle motherhood while Rossdale was touring with Bush in 2011, leaving her to solely take care of their kids, 6-year-old Kingston and 4-year-old Zuma.

"I mean, he was there for me mentally, but physically? These boys are physical," she explained. "They wake up and they start punching each other! One thing we've had in our relationship the whole time is that we can have it both ways: together, not together, and it's fine. But when you have kids? It's not so great. They need him. Once you have a family, it's just so obvious how everyone needs each other. So it's really nice to have him back."

Looking back, Gwen knows the road wasn't easy balancing work with kids.

"I did my first solo record and went on tour while I was pregnant," she recalled. "I would want to throw up during certain songs. Certain outfits would make me sick. It was torture. I toured until I was four and a half months pregnant, showing," she said. "I came home and had Kingston, and when he was eight months old, I went back on the road. I nursed him for 14 months, so I would literally do my hair and makeup, go back to the bus, nurse him, put him down, and walk out onstage. And I did that for 100 shows."

Despite the hard times, Gwen says she's proud to be a mother and loves the rewards that the role comes with it.

"It's super fun being a mom, but it's not what you think it's going to be," she shared. "And it's really gradual ... and as they grow older, it really does start to change your life."

Gwen says she feels lucky to have Gavin by her side for the ride. "You have to work at it," she said. "But, actually, it's fun to get to this point. Because you learn so much about somebody ... and obviously, you get stronger. And then having kids takes the whole relationship to another place. It is the ultimate collaboration. Both of us have such strong opinions about how it should be, and it's really fun to do it together."

The couple have been married for 10 years.

See Gwen's Sons in Our "Most Stylish Music Offspring" Gallery