Call me crazy, but I kind of like this Cosmo cover with Gwen Stefani. I like that it’s more of a body shot, I like the star-spangled dress thing, and I like that the cover isn’t all about cleavage or whatever. In the interior shot (I’m including it at the end of the post), Gwen does flash her abs. At what age should we stop expecting celebrities to flash their body parts? Jennifer Lopez still has amazing abs at the age of 45, and Gwen is the same age, plus Gwen has given birth three different times. It’s kind of crazy. My instinct is to say, “Eh, put it away when you’re in your 40s.” But maybe we should celebrate these #ForeverYoung celebrities. Anyway, here are some highlights from Gwen’s Cosmo interview:

On her marriage to Gavin Rossdale:
“We go through so much together—it’s a miracle that we could stay together this long. [Gavin’s] on a short tour right now, and he wrote me the sweetest note this morning. It’s good to have those days when we both do our own things. I think that’s what keeps relationships going, when both people can be themselves and have their own individuality. That’s especially important for women—it’s hard to find time for yourself.”

On marrying a “hot guy:”
“I never really saw myself landing a guy that hot. I don’t know if I was a nerd in high school, but I definitely wasn’t the super-cute cheerleader so I never saw myself getting somebody like that. But I do think he’s quite handsome. It’s not the most important thing about him, but it is nice…and he makes really cute babies!”

On her gratitude for her long and successful music career:
“My parents taught us, ‘[music] is your hobby. People don’t make it. It just doesn’t happen.’ It still shocks me that people care about me. I trip out about it all the time. It’s mind-blowing! For me, I’ve never gotten to a point where I felt, ‘Okay, I’ve made it, I’m number one!’ It’s an amazing feeling to hit number one, but it’s not that different a feeling from not being number one. It’s really about the journey—that’s where the joy comes. It’s not about the end result, because there isn’t really ever an end.”

[From Cosmo]

With Gavin and Gwen, I always thought that on paper, they were perfectly matched. They were equally hot, not too far apart in age, both were equally successful when they got together, etc. But I think Gwen really doesn’t have that much experience with men, which is strange to think about it. Like, she only really had two major relationships in adulthood and one of them was Gavin. But whatever, I think their marriage does work and I don’t see them calling it quits any time soon.

Photos courtesy of Matthias Vriens-McGrath for Cosmo.