‘No love like it’: Twenty years ago, Bush’s Gavin Rossdale learnt he had a fourth child

Musician Gavin Rossdale is best known as the frontman of Bush. Here, the 60-year-old talks about the important women in his life, including his ex-wife Gwen Stefani, current partner Xhoana, and learning he had a fourth child, Daisy Lowe, when she turned 16.

Gavin Rossdale reconnected with his mother when he was 27 years old. Getty Images for ParamountMy maternal grandmother, Barbara, lived in Scotland – we’d see her a couple of times a year. She always made rock cakes filled with raisins and I’d sit and eat the whole box.

I last saw her 20 years ago, by which time she had Alzheimer’s. She was sitting on a bed in an Edinburgh hospital all dressed up, with her handbag and coat. She was really annoyed at me because she said I was late. I wasn’t late, and I wasn’t taking her out. I played along with it; the smile that she gave me has stayed with me forever.

I grew up with my dad [Douglas] from the age of 12, when my parents split. My dad lived until his early 90s and died in 2018. I was the son of a workaholic single father, but his consistency was staggering, and he was rock solid in Mom’s absence. Dad was an incredible man.

I properly reconnected with Mom [Barbara] when I was 27. I learnt a lot through her absence. That’s the power of motherhood – that children forgive everything if you’re nice to them. She passed in 2025.

I have an older sister, Lorraine, and a younger sister, Soraya. Until the age of four, Lorraine did all the talking for me and terrorised me until I was 12. It’s terrible having a jealous older sister. She used to beat me up. I stood up for myself aged 12 and then we became good friends. The first child never forgives the birth of the second.

My Aunt Maggie, my mom’s sister, has been a maternal figure throughout my life. She was incapacitated in a terrible car accident when I was 16, and lived that way for 35 years. She grew up with me in the same house and introduced me to [David] Bowie records.

My celebrity crush was singer-songwriter Polly Jean [PJ] Harvey. She was a goddess. I met Polly at a Shellac show very early on, when she made her first record, Dry [1992].

Women have always been a huge inspiration to me, especially in music. Women like Patti Smith, Kim Gordon and Kim Deal are so unique. Patti Smith is an ongoing inspiration. I spoke to her once on the phone and then saw her in person, but she didn’t remember. It was OK, she had a lot going on at the time – I think a close friend had died. She thought I was a journalist.

From the age of 19 to 24, I had a very strong, cool girlfriend who was just wild; it was a beautiful youth love story. I had mad love for her. It was serious. My sisters are best friends with her now. She’s married, lives in France, works as a psychotherapist and is super accomplished.

I dated another girl around the formation of my band Bush in the early 1990s. She was supportive and sweet and came to the shows.

I met Gwen Stefani when Bush took her band No Doubt on tour. We spent 3½ months together and fell in love. [They married in 2002 and divorced in 2016.] I remember that time like it was yesterday. You go through some terrible things and come out the other side, dust yourself off and get on with life.

Gwen and I have three children, aged 20, 18 and 12. My greatest achievements are my kids. When they’re doing well and shining, I’m happy.

With ex-wife Gwen Stefani in 2014.Getty ImagesI met my girlfriend, Xhoana, in 2023 – I’m really in a good place. She is great at integrating with my kids and makes it seamless and an easy existence. She doesn’t have kids.

When I was dating before Xhoana and I met, I kind of kept the two aspects of my life separate. I didn’t want to mix my family life with dating. I wanted to be respectful to my kids and keep home a safe space for them.

I found out I had another child, Daisy Lowe, when she turned 16. She is 37 now, recently got married, and is a force of nature. It’s been incredible getting to know her. There is no love like that between a daughter and her dad.

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