Blake Shelton Reminded by Ellen DeGeneres That 'Time is Ticking' on Proposal to Gwen Stefani

Blake Shelton is keeping Ellen DeGeneres on her toes about when he’ll propose to longtime girlfriend Gwen Stefani. During the country singer’s appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show Friday, the talk show host razzed Shelton, 43, for not popping the question yet. To kick off the conversation, DeGeneres reminds the crooner about a special gift she previously gave him in the hopes that he would propose to Stefani — whom he has been dating for four years. “I gave you a clock.

Remember that clock? ” DeGeneres asked. “To remind you time is ticking. ” Shelton was quick to clap back that DeGeneres’ team never actually let him keep the clock, and that the show is probably using the clock to do the “same crap to [other guests] and embarrass them.

” “We did that to Jennifer Lopez and now she’s engaged,” DeGeneres laughed, speaking of Lopez’s recent engagement to Alex Rodriguez. Joking aside, the comedian expressed that she “likes seeing [the couple] together and that [they] work together at the show,” referring to The Voice, on which the two are both coaches. While they have yet to take things to the next step, the two singers — who have teamed up for a new love song, “Nobody But You,” featured on Shelton’s newest album Fully Loaded: God’s Country — are certain they’ve found “the one” in each other and are “very serious” about their relationship, said a friend of the couple in the latest cover story for PEOPLE. “It’s definitely headed toward marriage.

” “Blake was very serious about Gwen right from the start, and early on he thought about proposing,” said a Stefani insider. But the former No Doubt rocker, who is a practicing Roman Catholic, hopes to have a church ceremony with the country star. (Stefani, 50, was previously wed to Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale, 54, for 13 years before the pair split in 2015. ) Shelton has also expressed that faith has had an impact on their relationship.

“Both of us know that the timing, and the way she and I met and came together, it just felt like home, that’s not an accident,” Shelton told Entertainment Tonight at his album release party on Thursday. “I think that the way that she and I were able to save each other’s lives and get ourselves through that time it was evidence to us that God had a hand in it. ” Shelton’s new album Fully Loaded: God’s Country is available for listening now.