Gwen Stefani’s sons “look up” to her boyfriend Blake Shelton

An insider told Us Weekly magazine: “Those boys look up to Blake in a big way. He’s earned their respect as a father figure. He’s gone from being their friend to being a serious parental influence.”

The news comes after Gwen previously called her boyfriend a “good dad” during an interview in September last year.

She added: “He’s been helping me out a lot. I literally get to the point where I’m like, ‘You’ve got to get home. Come help!’ It’s hard. I have three boys.”

The 50-year-old singer also mentioned Blake during a glowing tribute to mark Father’s Day in June, although she made no mention of her sons’ biological father anywhere in her post.

She wrote: "Happy father's day @blakeshelton. Thank u for helping me raise these boys!! #weloveyou! (sic)”

Meanwhile, Gwen's kids have been living with her and Blake during the coronavirus pandemic, and Gavin previously admitted parenting during the global crisis is tough as he's unsure whether it's right to have the children going between households.

He recently said: "I spent the first two weeks with them, and then they went to Oklahoma. They're on a 10,000 acre ranch so I'm just thinking it's okay for now, but we'll see.

"That is the real big dilemma, for parents ... kids ... with split custody. Because you don't wanna ... I don't wanna ... you know what I mean? You're mindful of like, I know who's around me, no-one. No-one's bringing me the corona, no-one. But when you send your kids out somewhere else, when they come back to you, now you're prone to whoever they're with. It's a tricky one for all divorced parents."

Gavin normally sees his sons "every five days or so", and back in April he said he's struggling to cope without seeing them as they spend time with their mother and Blake.

He added at the time: "I miss them and they should be back. They were with me the first two weeks and then I haven't had them for 10 or 11 days, and that's a long time. Normally I have them every five days or so, that's what I'm used to.

"At first it was like 'Okay cool, I can play guitar more', but now I'm like, I kind of prefer it when they're around actually."