EXCLUSIVE: Gavin Rossdale Opens Up About New Album & How Divorce From Gwen Stefani Influenced His Songwriting

Gavin Rossdale is opening up about his upcoming album, and how his high-profile divorce impacted his new music and his life as an artist.

The Bush frontman sat down with ET's Nischelle Turner on Wednesday at the GRAMMY Museum in Los Angeles, where he got candid about the role his divorce from Gwen Stefani has had on his songwriting and his band's forthcoming seventh studio album, Black and White Rainbows, admitting, "It obviously informs the record."

"It's hard to separate yourself from the most monumental thing that happens in your life if you're an artist," Rossdale shared.

WATCH: Gavin Rossdale Talks Co-Parenting During the Holidays and Getting His Kids Into Giving Back

The 51-year-old rocker and father of three admitted that he was careful not to include a lot of the songs he wrote immediately following the dissolution of his 13-year marriage, which was finalized last April, as they were written to help him cope with the split.

EXCLUSIVE: Gavin Rossdale Says His Music Is Helping Him Heal

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Up Next

"There were certain songs that weren't right," Rossdale recalled. "They were written for me to write, in the purest sense. Just to write to kind of escape my life a little bit or to understand it."

Ultimately, Rossdale says he didn't distance his new songs from his tumultuous personal life altogether, because he enjoys the idea of sharing his interests, both personal and political, with his fans, "whether it's personal, whether it's going through my divorce, whether it's seeing these images on the TV of these people or feeling the effects of global warming."

"I just tried to be mindful of having elements of my own life and then elements of things going on around us," he continued. "Because you can't be so self-absorbed that you just write stuff about yourself."

WATCH: Gavin Rossdale Wants to 'Move On' From Gwen Stefani Divorce: 'It's, Like, Enough Already'

Rossdale and Stefani, who share three sons -- Kingston, 10, Zuma, 8, and Apollo, 2 -- split up in August 2015 when the No Doubt frontwoman filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Not long after they split, Stefani struck up a relationship with her fellow Voice coach Blake Shelton.

Despite the split, Rossdale has refrained from publicly speaking ill of his ex-wife. The singer explained that he "would never do that," and that respecting Stefani "comes real natural to me."

"She's amazing, so why would I think anything less?" said Rossdale, adding that the best thing about Stefani as a mother is "just how much she loves [the kids]."

It's this mutual respect and the love they share for their sons that makes co-parenting less difficult for the former couple.

"We both have the same interest at heart," Rossdale explained. "[Our kids'] happiness. It's really simple."

WATCH: 11 Times Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale Got Real About Their Marriage and Kids

As Rossdale's life has clearly undergone significant changes in the years since Bush's last album, Man on the Run, was released in October 2014, the musician says his music has reflected that change, along with the changes inherent in the music industry.

"If you have a long career, like I've been lucky to have with my band, you come in and out of focus and you come in and out of what's going on," Rossdale said. "Rock music is kind of a distant memory for most people, so to still be in a band with guitars is kind of interesting. All the time, there's this metamorphosis going on in your life and you're reinventing yourself just to keep yourself interested."

Bush's new album, Black and White Rainbows, comes out March 10.

WATCH: Gavin Rossdale Gets Candid About Ex-Wife Gwen Stefani: 'I Still Think Gwen Is Incredible'

Gavin Rossdale Reveals Divorce From Ex Gwen Stefani Was 'Completely Opposite' to What He Wanted

This video is unavailable because we were unable to load a message from our sponsors.

If you are using ad-blocking software, please disable it and reload the page.

Up Next

Related Gallery

The Biggest Celebrity Breakups of 2015