Gwen Stefani used to find motherhood stressful.

She told Marie Claire magazine: "I would be up all night because my second baby didn't sleep, and he had a lot of ear infections. Then I'd wake up in the morning and do my workout, which I always felt I had to do, and then meetings for my three clothing lines, and then hang out with my kids, take them to preschool - da, da, da.

"At four o'clock, I'd be like, 'All right, I'm out of here. I'm going to go to the studio and try to write a record.' I'd sit on the couch [with my band mates] and be like, 'Let's do this now, because I'm missing time with the kids. I could be having dinner with them and putting them to bed.' It was really hard."

The 43-year-old star is known for her toned abs and trim figure, but Gwen confessed she has since sacrificed going to the gym for the sake of maintaining a balanced lifestyle. The blonde bombshell was addicted to working out five times a week until she realised cutting down on exercise was something she "had to do".

She admitted: "This past year, I kind of stopped working out. I think my body just needed a break. And so I did that and focused more on feeling good as opposed to beating myself up."

However, Gwen revealed her "miracle" ten-year marriage to rocker Gavin is stronger than ever as a result of everything, describing it as her "biggest accomplishment" to date.