Gwen Stefani has addressed her public embrace of Christianity after facing scrutiny for promoting the Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow, which critics have labeled an anti-abortion platform.
Detractors have pointed towards one specific prayer contained in the app which says:
“Jesus, we pray for every woman who is considering abortion, and in a special way for those who are pregnant from acts of r*pe or inc*st.”
Highlights
- Gwen Stefani faced backlash after promoting the Catholic prayer and meditation app Hallow.
- Critics pointed to a prayer asking God to guide women considering abortion, including pregnancies from non-consensual acts.
- The singer said the birth of her son Apollo at age 44 marked the turning point in her Christian faith.
The prayer asks that women recognize “the goodness, gift, and beauty of her own life” and accept the life of the child.
A prayer in Gwen Stefani’s app Hallow is facing criticism for urging women who were taken advantage of to avoid abortion
Image credits: Getty/Taylor Hill
The backlash against Stefani intensified after she promoted the Hallow platform during the Christian season of Advent, encouraging her followers to download the app and participate in a daily prayer challenge.
In the advertisement, the singer told viewers that it was “important this holiday season to spend time in prayer,” before inviting them to “download Hallow today and join me and millions of others in praying every day this Advent and Christmas season.”
Image credits: Getty/Christopher Polk
The controversy escalated after the video was discussed on social media and amplified by podcast host Matt Bernstein, who built a following on Instagram with posts mixing makeup looks and LGBTQ topics.
Bernstein drew attention to the prayer addressing abortion and argued that the app reflected what he described as a conservative religious agenda.
Image credits: Hallow: Prayer & Meditation
Critics also pointed to the app’s ties to Catholic pro-life teachings and its reported backing from figures such as venture capitalist Peter Thiel.
Reality television personality Chrishell Stause joined the backlash publicly, responding to the controversy with a pointed remark aimed at the singer.
“Gwen-DON’T SPEAK. Please take your own advice on this one,” Stause wrote online, referencing Stefani’s 1996 No Doubt hit song.
Stefani credits the birth of her son Apollo at 44 as the turning point in her faith journey
Image credits: Hallow: Prayer & Meditation
While the controversy centered on the prayer app, Stefani has explained that her public embrace of faith stems from a deeply personal experience she describes as life-changing.
The turning point in her spiritual journey came during a period when she believed she would never have another child.
At the time, the singer was already a mother to two sons with her then-husband Gavin Rossdale: Kingston, now 19, and Zuma, now 17.
In 2013, Kingston, who was about eight years old at the time, began asking his mother for another sibling.
Stefani recalled hearing him pray for it.
“I’m sorry, your mommy is too old to have a baby,” she remembered telling him.
Image credits: Getty/Jason Kempin
Around the same time, Stefani began having conversations with a man she described as a former atheist who had converted to Judaism. Those discussions unexpectedly pushed her to reflect more deeply on faith.
“He was studying the Torah, and he had this big epiphany awakening, and he started talking to me about the Torah,” she explained.
Then something happened she still struggles to explain.
“It was like, four weeks later, and I was pregnant with Apollo,” Stefani said. “I had him at 44 years old, naturally.”
Image credits: gwenstefani
She described the experience as “a full-on gift” and called it “the first miracle.”
The experience also brought a new sense of urgency about faith.
“It’s almost scary because the more you know, the more fear you get,” she admitted. “You realize, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m running out of time and I need to get this together. I’ve got to be a real Christian! I’m not gonna make it.’”
The singer’s husband, Blake Shelton, dismissed rumors that the two were heading toward a split
Image credits: Getty/Emma McIntyre
Stefani had long maintained ties to Catholicism. She and Rossdale were married in a Catholic church in 2002 before divorcing 14 years later.
Their marriage was reportedly annulled in 2021, the same year she married country singer Blake Shelton.
While discussion about the Hallow app spread online, Stefani’s personal life also became part of the conversation, with rumors repeatedly surfacing about the state of her relationship with Shelton.
Image credits: gwenstefani
The country singer recently dismissed speculation that the couple were heading toward a split.
“Starting in October, I think, or maybe November, I started noticing these articles popping up about ‘Blake and Gwen, they’re split up. They're not even seeing each other anymore, they're going through a divorce,’” Shelton said on Country Countdown USA.
Image credits: gwenstefani
He joked about how quickly the narrative seemed to change depending on whether the pair were seen together in public.
“A week later a picture comes out of us walking out of the grocery store: ‘Oh, they’re back together again!’”
“And another week goes by and we’re not seen at the grocery store: ‘They’re divorcing!’”
The couple celebrated ten years together in 2025, and Shelton said the relationship still feels fresh.
“It honestly does [feel like time is flying by],” he told People Magazine.
"She doesn't have to explain her faith to anyone." Stefani's fans defended her online
