Gwen Stefani opens up about the miracle pregnancy that revived her faith

Gwen Stefani, who was raised Catholic, recently discussed returning to her faith after what she called a "miracle" third pregnancy at age 44.

Key Takeaways:

• Stefani was raised Catholic and while she said her parents planted the seed of faith in her, she fell away as an adult.

• At 44, her son asked about having another baby, but Stefani believed she was too old.

• He prayed every night for a sibling, and she miraculously got pregnant again.

• The pregnancy and her son's prayers prompted her to return to her Catholic faith.

The Details:

In an interview with apologist Jeff Cavins posted to YouTube last week, Stefani said she began realizing her need to return to faith when she and a friend began reading the Jewish Torah together, and that it was "waking [her] up." Though Stefani was raised Catholic, she said it was never particularly important to her family.

She said:

"We just grew up Catholic, and it was just the rule. You go to church every Sunday without fail, and you're going to do your catechism classes, which to me were all the bad kids. When I would get there, it would be at night, and I'd be scared, and it would be all these rowdy kids that you didn't know because it wasn't from your school, because I didn't go to Catholic school. 

And I feel like it was, in our family, it wasn't like we came home and discussed it, or we read the Bible together. I mean, maybe here and there, but we did grace every night, but it wasn't the way I feel like I am now."

Yet she still thanked her mother for giving her a spiritual foundation to return to later, saying:

"My mom was the one that really, I think, planted the seed of faith in me, and she knew I needed that, and I was going to need it, and she was right."

Stefani went on to front the rock band No Doubt in the 90s and beyond, and eventually married Gavin Rossdale, lead singer of the band Bush. When Stefani was 44 with two boys already (Kingston and Zuma), her oldest son, Kingston, began praying for another baby. Because of her age, she didn't think it would be possible — but she had been strongly wanting another baby when Kingston approached her.

She recalled:

"He's like, 'Mommy, I really want you to have a baby.' I said, 'I'm sorry, your mom is too old to have a baby now.' He was probably, like, seven, I think, maybe he was older, he was eight. And he was like, 'Please, God, let my mom have a baby,' and I just was just sitting there going, 'wow, look at my little boy, he's praying for me.'

And he was doing it every night, and I never asked him to do that. I never taught him that, really, and I think it was, like, four weeks later, and I was pregnant with Apollo, who I had at 44 years old, naturally. Totally a full-on gift, and that was the first miracle.

You can run from God or you can run to God, you know, in that situation.... I [ran to Him]. ... I was built to do that. My parents taught  me that's what you do."

That was the catalyst that led to her returning to her faith.

Gwen Stefani Opens Up About Her Faith, Prayer & Finding God | Lent Pray40

Zoom Out:

Last year, Stefani began partnering with Hallow, a Catholic prayer app which partners with other celebrities like Chris Pratt and Mark Wahlberg, and received widespread condemnation. The furor began when influencer Matt Bernstein, who describes himself as a "friendly queer jew with very long nails," slammed the partnership.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year when Gwen Stefani shills for the right-wing, anti-abortion pay-to-pray app Hallow," he said, adding, "Hallow is a daily pay to pray app that costs $70 a year before tax. God's not cheap."

While Hallow does have a paid version, there is also a free version, and others can get discounted access to the app through their church, if it has partnered with Hallow.

Bernstein also criticized Stefani for partnering with a "pro-life" app. Though Stefani is now open about her Catholic faith, she has never explicitly discussed the subject of abortion.

The Catholic Church, however, is staunchly pro-life, so it should not be surprising that Hallow would include pro-life prayers. Yet for this, Stefani was raked over the coals.

Bernstein criticized Hallow's "multitude of anti-abortion prayers, some of which are read to you by the soothing voice of Lila Rose... the founder of Live Action, a group dedicated to ending abortion. And by the way, someone Gwen seems to be pals with or at least a fan of."

Bernstein wasn't the only person angry that Stefani would exist in the same space as pro-life advocates; comedian Walter Masterson added, "Lila Rose's group is evil. There's no way Gwen is just a casual follower of hers."

The Bottom Line:

Whether or not Stefani is pro-life, it is clear that experiencing the miracle of life had a profound effect on her and on her faith.