Gwen Stefani says My Baby is Rad

In the February issue of Elle, rock n’ roll’s Gwen Stefani gives it to you straight, admitting that her marriage to rocker Gavin Rossdale (41) isn’t perfect, pregnancy sort of sucked, and that she’s a Xerox of Madonna.

On Madonna:
“It’s weird that we have all these similarities. Madonna’s had us over to dinner and stuff. She’s always been very nice to me…I remember telling Madonna I was going to do an 80s dance record and she rolled her eyes, because I think when you’ve lived through it like she did, she’s like ‘Whatever.’ But a lot of my influence came from her early work, like directly, like a Xerox.”

On her middle class upbringing:
“The hotel maid walked by today, and she’s really pretty and she probably comes from Poland. And here I am about to spend a lot of money on room service and I was thinking, I could have been a maid.”

On what her fans say:
“People always say the same things. That I’m smaller than they expected and that I look better in real life. Which is kind of a back-handed compliment.”

On her marriage:
“I mean, of course me and Gavin have problems, sometimes. Everyone does. We’ve been together for over 10 years. This is, like, the real deal.”

On 8-month-old son Kingston:
“He’s pretty rad…Kingston is so chill. He goes with me everywhere, ’cause I’m still nursing. He’s been to every studio in L.A., New York, London. He lives up to his name - total Rasta boy. He gives me real balance. You can go 100 miles an hour, but you have to stop to hang out with him.”

On her difficult pregnancy:
“I thought I was going to be one of those Mother Nature girls. I figured, I’ll just squeeze it out, ’cause I’m really strong and I work out and stuff.

However, I would be seriously crying before I went onstage. I didn’t know how I was going to get through the tour, putting on nine costume changes on a stage in front of 12,000 people every night. And I didn’t want people to know [I was pregnant]. I didn’t want it to become the Gwen Circus Freak Show - ‘Watch it grow onstage.’”