Gwen Stefani has made a surprising confession about her health, revealing the truth about
why she canceled a handful of concerts in Las Vegas in early 2020 before the coronavirus
pandemic really took hold in the U.S. Stefani returned to the stage to continue her "Just
A Girl" residency shows at Zappos Theater after several months away, as a string of
shows were then nixed due to safety precautions surrounding the pandemic.
Many fans had been waiting a seriously long time to see the star back in action performing
her biggest hits, as it was April 2020 when Planet Hollywood tweeted that Stefani's scheduled
shows at the Zappos Theater were no longer going to happen due to, quote, "recommendations
from the CDC regarding events."
The canceled shows included what was expected to be the last of her residency, with the
company adding,
"The good news is that she will be returning to Vegas for additional residency dates."
"It's just fun to be able to get really girly and theatrical and take it to another place
that I've never got to go before."
Well, as they say, the show must go on — and that it did, just over a year later.
Stefani triumphantly returned to the stage on October 22nd and got pretty candid with
the crowd while discussing what had happened to her more than a year and a half prior.
But what did she say?
Gwen Stefani's October 22 "Just A Girl" residency show in Las Vegas saw the star confess that
she had to cancel shows in 2020 due to her own COVID-19 diagnosis.
Stefani doesn't appear to have spoken about contracting the virus before, but told fans
who gathered to see her in Sin City,
"I was the first one to have COVID, in case you wondered."
She shared that she believed she caught it while in Vegas as she asked concertgoers,
"Do you remember when I canceled those four shows?"
She then admitted that she wanted to get her fans up on stage with her so she could, quote,
"make out with [them]," but was staying cautious.
Stefani told the crowd:
"Just because I can't touch you, I'm still breathing your air right now, so that's the
risk that I'm taking because I love you guys."
The on/off coach of NBC's The Voice didn't explicitly confirm when she had the virus,
though she missed out on four shows from February 7, 2020, to February 14, 2020.
Stefani didn't share publicly at the time that she'd tested positive but did let fans
know she wasn't well and wouldn't be performing via Twitter.
In one tweet on February 13, 2020, she wrote she was still, quote, "under the weather,"
after initially tweeting six days earlier that she was "not feeling well."
It's unclear whether Stefani has long-term symptoms from her bout with COVID-19, but
if she does, chances are she's taking good care of herself, as she has learned the hard
way what happens when you neglect your well-being.
In a 2012 interview with Marie Claire, the singer admitted:
"I've got myself in a lot of trouble by not saying no.
This last year I kind of stopped working out.
I think my body just needed a break.
And so I did that, and focused more on feeling good as opposed to beating myself up."
Stefani is also mindful of her diet and workout routine, taking a straightforward approach
to the whole thing.
The "I'm Just A Girl" singer told Harper's Bazaar in 2015:
"I hate talking about my body [all the time]; it's ridiculous.
There is no secret: You just have to eat healthy, work out, and torture yourself!"
Not only is Gwen Stefani mindful of and forthcoming about her health, but she's also careful about
the well-being of others.
Case in point: Stefani and her now-husband Blake Shelton put off their wedding due to
concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic.
During an interview with Ryan Seacrest, Stefani said:
"I would say I just want my parents there at this point.
My parents wouldn't come to Thanksgiving because they're so scared so really would rather it
not be a COVID situation."
Stefani and Shelton eventually got hitched in July, still deciding to keep it small at
around 40 people.
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