Gwen Stefani shares a great picture of Blake Shelton

Gwen Stefani turned to Instagram to share a starter photo of her long-time boyfriend, Blake Shelton, on Friday, Sept. 20, proclaiming that she would like to meet earlier in life .

The pop superstar and former No Doubt singer has released a black-and-white photograph of Shelton in her youth, dressed in a flannel shirt surmounting a white T-shirt and sporting a mullet that makes it vaguely resemble a young Patrick Swayze. We do not know what year the photo was taken, but Shelton stands in front of the offices of American composer magazine in the shot.

She was accompanying the picture of the caption: "@blakeshelton wants me to know you sooner."

Stefani and Shelton met during filming The voice, and they began dating in 2015 after his divorce with Miranda Lambert and his separation from Gavin Rossdale. Shelton said People in June, he can not believe that they have been together for nearly four years.

"It's actually shocking that it's been so long," he says. "It's a little fuzzy, it's still like it's pretty new to me, I guess it's relatively, four years is not forever, but man, it's like it had happened in no time. "

The couple recently regained their professional life while Stefani is back The voice for season 17 from September 23rd. She enters the role of coach Adam Levine remained vacant when he decided to leave the series after 16 seasons.

Shelton has won more seasons of The voice than any other coach in the show's story, and he tells People he is not going to restrain himself as he confronts his lady love.

"I will not let her win," he says. "I'm going to have to win, but I'll have to do it in such a way that she does not feel like I'm beating her."

Stefani also promised not to show restraint on Shelton. In a trailer of season 17, when fellow trainer John Legend asks if it will be competitive with Shelton, the singer says bluntly, "It's the war."