Gwen Stefani's eldest son, whom she shares and co-parents with her ex Gavin Rossdale, recently celebrated his 18th birthday. Both doting parents took to Instagram to share endearing birthday tributes to their handsome son which had fans debating on which parent he resembles the most. In addition to Gavin, the beloved teen also has Blake Shelton as his stepdad.
Musical superstar Gwen Stefani and her rocker ex-husband Gavin Rossdale just celebrated a monumental birthday. The loving mom and dad's eldest son, Kingston Rossdale, turned 18 years old over the weekend and received the most heartwarming of dedications from his parents.
Proud mother Gwen took to her Instagram account to post a loving tribute to Kingston with a reel that gave fans a glimpse into the teen's life thus far. Starting off in a fun way, the video shows a young and sleepy Kingston lying in bed and holding a crystal ball while he says, "This is a crystal ball and it tells the future."
Playing on the crystal ball's mythical abilities to see into the future, the video then begins to play out moments from Kingston's life, starting with a nostalgic picture of him and his mom when he was born.
From there, the endearing video displays footage of Kingston through the years: Being fed by Gwen as a baby, more mother-son pictures, and a clip of him kissing one of his siblings on the forehead.
During the flashbacks, another clip of Kingston comes up, this time, it showed off his guitar skills as a kid while adorably dressed as Spider-Man. Other clips and pics show the youngster having more fun with his mom, his friends, and other family members, like his brothers, Zuma and Apollo Kingston, and his stepfather, Blake Shelton.
As the reel wraps up, the last few photos show Kingston as he is now. Eagle-eyed fans who watched the video may have also noticed a special young girl aka Kingston's longtime girlfriend, Lola Albert, make an appearance in some of the media.
Accompanying the touching birthday dedication was a sweet caption penned by Gwen which reads, "happiest of birthdays Kingston 🤍 my first born baby boy :) cannot believe u are 18 today… i love u! 🥰"
Adding a layer of extra sweetness, Gwen accompanied her Instagram post with a popular song from iconic band UB40, which perfectly suited the occasion—"Kingston Town."
Upon seeing Gwen's post, a flurry of fans took to the comment section to gush over Kingston and share their opinions on which parent they think the 18-year-old looks like the most. "Omg crying! Happy birthday Kingston. You've grown into such an amazing young man ❤️," wrote a fan.
"Everyone says he looks like Gavin but all I see is Gwen's early photos, that's his mama's twin. That's a Stefani face. 😍," stated another fan. Similarly, an admirer commented, "Happiest Birthday Kingston!!! ❤️ He looks like [his] beautiful mama ❤️" "Mini Gwen ❤️😍," swooned someone else.
While many think Kingston takes after his mother more so than his father, others feel differently. "Image of his father," penned a social media user while another echoed, "Gavin's twin big time."
Like Kingston's mom, Gavin also shared a birthday dedication of his own. In the doting dad's Instagram carousel post, he showed lovely snaps of his son. An array of pictures show Kingston posing for the camera with friends and family, and with his girlfriend, Lola.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY KINGSTON -18 today and a massive step into your future.so far the best ride of my life and i can't wait to see where you go from here.i have total belief in you and deeply admire the man within.you have grace, charm and humility. you are at the wheel of your destiny so choose wisely," captioned Gavin in his lengthy and heartfelt message to his son.
The loving dad continued to proudly boast about Kingston's musical prowess, gave him advice to stay curious and creative, and ended off by wishing him well and reiterating the immense love he has for him. In response to his dad's post, Kingston replied, "best dad ever."
Gavin may no longer be with Kingston's mom anymore but that doesn't mean that the "Love Remains The Same" singer is not active in his sons' lives. Just last year, Gavin spoke about co-parenting Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo with his ex.
During a sit-down interview with Adrianna Costa on "Not So Hollywood!" Adrianna asked how Gavin and Gwen manage to make co-parenting look so seamless. "I think it can go one of two ways: You can either do everything together and really co-parent and see how that goes or you can just parent and I think we just parent," said Gavin in response to the question.
The British artist went on to explain, "We're really different people [...] I don't think there's much similarity in the way we bring them up but I think that gives them an incredible perspective to then choose which pieces of those two lives they'd like to inherit and move on with and which part of themselves—it kind of comes out of the whole process because that's what's important, is to give them a wide view of things."
Sharing his reflections on what it's like to play the role of stepfather to Gavin and Gwen's boys, Blake also gave his own insights. While speaking to a popular media outlet in April about his and Gwen's 10th Anniversary of meeting each other, the country musician discussed being a father figure in Kingston, Zuma, and Apollo's lives.
After talking about looking forward to Kingston's birthday; the anticipation of Zuma turning 18 in a few years, and the joy of having little Apollo spending more years in the safe bosom of his and Gwen's home, Blake highlighted how the three boys changed his life in every way.
"When people say it's not about you anymore when you have a kid… I think, if you're doing it right, it's not about you anymore. That's true," confirmed Blake about his stepchildren.
Blake models how he shows up for them after his own experience with how his dad raised his half-brother, Richie Shelton, as one of his own. "My dad did it [...] I could do this. I didn't know what I was signing up for, but I was all about signing up for it. And every day I've fallen in love with these boys as much as I do with Gwen," asserted Blake.
Just like Kingston and his siblings have had a profound impact on their stepdad who loves them as his own, Blake has also influenced them.
"Whether it's music, whether it's literally getting out, getting their hands in the dirt or being out on the ranch, seeing the animals, whatever, you know? I absolutely love being the person that gets to introduce them to that stuff," gushed the doting stepfather.
Nurturing Kingston Rossdale, Apollo, and Zuma's musical skills is something Blake shares in common with Gwen Stefani and the boys' dad, Gavin Rossdale, especially where Kingston is concerned. The devoted parents have boasted about their eldest son's musical ability on many occasions, starting when he was younger.
In 2020, Gavin shared that he had been introducing Kingston to some of the greats in the punk rock genre, including the Gang of Four and Sex Pistols. Gavin said, "We're trying all these different bands along with bands from his generation. Young kids that are making music now, it's cool, but I was like, 'Why don't we look at the beginning? See where it came from.'"
He expressed joy at Kingston's enthusiasm for music and fashion, noting that when Kingston played the guitar, he loved to wear his clothes and often looked better than him. Gavin affectionately described all his kids as better versions of himself, attributing it to the strengths he passed on to them.
In August 2023, Kingston showcased his musical talent by performing on stage at his stepdad's bar & grill, Ole Red, in Tishomingo. This marked another milestone in Kingston's journey, reflecting his growth and transformation since he first toured with his mother at nine months.
Witnessing Kingston's first public performance stirred a wave of nostalgia and emotion in Gwen. She was deeply impressed by his songwriting talent, which she described as being beyond her expectations.
Kingston's songs, she felt, were not just good, but truly amazing. The experience of seeing her child discover his gift and express his talent was overwhelming for Gwen.
It brought her to tears and filled her with joy, as she realized Kingston had found a creative outlet that made him happy. On this, she divulged, "It's crazy when you have children, and they learn what their gift is. You see their talent, and you're like, 'Wow.' I'm so happy for him that he has that outlet."
