The year was 1992, the place was small-town Oklahoma, and apparently extremely big mullets were all the rage.
Back then, Blake Shelton was merely a young fellow interested in playing his guitar, blissfully unaware that in 20 years’ time he would be the biggest name in American country music.
And little did he know that in the year 2015, he would rocket to global fame for confirming his relationship with newly-single singer and fellow American The Voice coach Gwen Stefani.
According to our sources, with his greasy mullet and thick spectacles, Blake “could barely bag a date” while he was in high school in the town of Ada, Oklahoma.
But all that changed in 1994, when he moved to Nashville,Tennessee -the heartland of country music which also counts Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman as residents.
He married country music darling Miranda Lambert in 2011, but they split earlier this year. He is said to have bonded with Gwen over their mutual marriage split heartache.
Talk about mullet goals! A teenage Blake took the nineties hair trend very seriously.
Now 39, the American chart-topper with a charming Southern accent made PEOPLE magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive 2014 list.
While our source says he struggled to bag a date, this young lady was clearly chuffed to be nestled into his hulking 196cm frame.
In his yearbook pictures obtained exclusively by Woman’s Day online, Blake was always surrounded by friends.
It was only confirmed last week – after plenty of speculation – that Blake and singer Gwen Stefani are officially a couple.
Wonder what Gwen will make of his mullet-and-Stetson combination?
The cowboy hat has obviously been Blake’s go-to wardrobe staple from a young age.
But nothing beats that mullet – the definition of business at the front and party at the back. Can’t. Stop. Staring.
These days, Blake sports a much more groomed look, and Gwen is obviously a fan.
The Voice coaches’ fledgling romance is one of the feelgood celebrity stories to come out of 2015.
But, thanks to these exclusive pics, Blake will now forever be known to us first and foremost for his epic mullet. Throwback photos: Coleman-Rayner.