Adam Levine and Blake Shelton's bromance truly is TV gold.
In fact, their constant fighting on The Voice is sometimes more entertaining than the musical
performances on the show.
And the two coaches apparently hit it off from the start.
That said, their friendship hasn't been without its issues.
Aside from their on-air bickering, a source revealed to Life & Style in October 2017 that
the kinship had "cooled off" and "seemed forced" when they weren't filming.
So what's the real deal?
Here are some of the ebbs and flows of Levine and Shelton's friendship.
Crazy competitive
Levine and Shelton love to give each other a hard time on the set of The Voice, with
an insider telling Us Weekly that Levine is, by far, the most competitive coach on the
series.
In November 2017, Shelton — who, as of the 14th season, has won the show six times — admitted
on Live With Kelly And Ryan that the bulk of his success is likely due to the rabid
loyalty of his country fanbase.
"As long as he doesn't win is a win for me."
When Levine's contestant Jordan Smith won season 9, Levine — who has won three times
— couldn't wait to rub it in Shelton's face.
"It's really quite beautiful because Jordan gets to win The Voice and I get to tear Blake
apart for the next six months."
Secret romance
Even though Shelton and Gwen Stefani are now the king and queen of PDA, they initially
kept their romance a secret — but Levine ended up being the first one to find out.
He told The Howard Stern Show in October 2017 he had suspected something was up between
the then-newly single pair, but only figured it out for sure once they all went to dinner
together and he caught Stefani and Shelton sneaking a smooch.
He explained,
"They kissed or something, they did something crazy.
Imagine if two of your friends who don't hook up started kissing.
It was something that was a giveaway and I was like, 'I f---ing knew it!'"
Don't cry, Adam
Shelton and fellow The Voice coach Kelly Clarkson are close friends, so it makes sense that
they like to team up to troll fellow coach Adam Levine.
In March 2018, Shelton revealed on The Tonight Show that he and Clarkson once attended a
Maroon 5 concert to, quote, "make fun of" Levine at the show.
Later that night, the three pals were on their way home when their designated driver got
pulled over by cops, and Levine wasn't too happy with his friends' behavior.
Shelton and Clarkson jokingly sassed the cop, and according to Shelton, Levine was so convinced
they were going to jail that he started to cry.
"He got upset.
He did, I'll never forget it, 'Kelly, shut up! Kelly, shut up!'
It got intense."
Sexiest Men Alive
People magazine named Adam Levine the Sexiest Man Alive in 2013, much to Shelton's chagrin,
so when Shelton got the title in November 2017, he told the magazine,
"I can't wait to shove this up Adam's ass.
As proud as I am and honored that you guys asked me, that's really the only thing I care
about."
The sexiness beef didn't end there.
Levine admitted on Jimmy Kimmel Live in January 2018 that he used an enormous version of his
own 2013 cover to play a practical joke on Shelton.
"I framed it and I sent it to his house in Oklahoma."
"Oh wow."
"I did, it's true, and he put it up in his barn."
Sticking together
Though Shelton and Levine are constantly beefing on the set of the show, the two coaches are
reportedly using their chemistry to their advantage in salary negotiations.
In January 2018, a source told Radar Online that Levine was itching to quit the show to
stay home and be a family man, adding,
"If Adam leaves, Blake is going to follow because he has been over it for a while.
Ever since Gwen left, Blake has been ready to go."
Shelton has said as much himself, telling Country Countdown USA in 2015,
"It's never even come up where Adam and I aren't there.
[…] I've told them if that ever comes up, I'm just gone, period."
According to Radar Online, once word got out that the boys wanted out, they were each offered
a $5 million bonus to stay on The Voice through 2020.
The bromance is real
For as much of a hard time as Levine and Shelton give each other, there is a lot of genuine
affection between them.
This was never more apparent than when Shelton spoke at Levine's Hollywood Walk of Fame induction
ceremony in February 2017.
"I have never had a more honest and loyal friend than Adam Levine."
Shelton went on to say that he was incredibly proud of his friend.
"Congratulations, brother.
I love you."