Celebrity Gwen Stefani: Divorce 'Was Not in the Plan at All' The singer calls her split a "horrible, crazy explosion" in her life By Melody Chiu Melody Chiu Instagram Twitter Melody Chiu is a Senior Editor for PEOPLE. She has been with the brand since 2009, editing, writing and reporting across all entertainment verticals. She oversees PEOPLE's music and events coverage and has written cover stories on Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Melissa McCarthy, Blake Shelton and Sandra Oh. The Los Angeles native graduated from the University of Southern California and has appeared on Extra!, The Talk, Access Hollywood and Good Morning America. People Editorial Guidelines Published on December 3, 2015 03:45 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Gwen Stefani appears to be doing better than ever these days, but getting to a positive place was a tough journey. “Everybody knows pretty much what happened to me,” she told Elvis Duran and The Z100 Morning Show on Thursday. “I got a divorce, which completely was not in the plan at all.” Calling her split from Gavin Rossdale a “horrible, crazy explosion,” the star says she wanted to go into the studio but was having trouble writing new music. “I just had the baby, it was the time with Pharrell, I started The Voice,” she says about that period in her life. “I did ‘Baby Don’t Lie,’ which is interesting how those lyrics worked out to be like a precursor to the future.'” One day, “I had to force myself to go to the studio because I really just wanted to be in bed crying and do what you do when you life falls apart and I didn’t,” she said. “I went to the studio and I was just convinced that I had to make something out of this.” (See her powerful performance of her emotional new single “Used to Love You” here.) Coming out stronger after a rough year, “things are clear for the first time in a long time,” she says. “That feels really good.” And while she’s going strong with boyfriend Blake Shelton, Stefani may also have a new cuddle buddy in the new year – a puppy! “We’re getting a dog for Christmas,” she said. “Santa said that maybe we might be getting a dog. They send me videos and it’s in a bassinet and it’s so cute! It’s a little too much.”