Gwen Stefani feels 'guilty' being a working mother

Us Weekly

Covering the January 2013 issue of Vogue, Gwen Stefani, the 43-year-old No Doubt frontwoman, opens up about why she was hesitant to record new material with her bandmates after an 11-year hiatus. (The band released their sixth studio album, "Push and Shove," in September.)

"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 recalls. "'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."

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The toughest part was doing it on her own, she said. In September 2011, her husband Gavin Rossdale's band, Bush, released their first album in 10 years. The group spent nearly a year touring the world to promote "The Sea of Memories."

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"I mean, he was there for me mentally, but physically? These boys [Kingston, 6, and Zuma, 4] are physical. They wake up and they start punching each other!" she laughs. "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."

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Motherhood itself presented a new set of challenges for Stefani, who launched her L.A.M.B. fashion line 10 years ago. "It's super fun being a mom, but it's not what you think it's going to be. And it's really gradual. At first, your life is totally the same. You have this cute little thing that you get to drive around everywhere, and you're so proud and it's amazing. And as they grow older, it really does start to change your life. Like, 'Oh, my God, they have school, they have to get through first grade, they have to learn to read.'"

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