Miranda Lambert blindsided by divorce from Blake Shelton, says source

Miranda Lambert and estranged husband Blake Shelton finalized their divorce in July 2015. Now, a source close to the former is spilling all the tea about their highly publicized breakup.

In an interview with Life & Style Weekly, an unnamed source said that the 33-year-old country singer was not the one who initiated the divorce and was completely blindsided when the "Came Here to Forget" singer asked for it.

"Blake blindsided her with the divorce and drove her out of their home," the source said, adding, "It hurt her badly and profoundly changed her outlook on life... She was painted as the villain, and a lot of their friends in the industry took his side."

While the former couple did not elaborate as to what prompted the end of their four-year marriage, rumors persisted that Lambert was unhappy with Shelton's drinking habits. Also, the latter allegedly had a brief, inappropriate relationship with fellow country singer Cady Groves in late 2014.

This comes weeks after Lambert said that her sixth studio album, "The Weight of These Wings," tells her side of the story about her heartbreaking divorce from Shelton. The album's lead single, "Vice," was actually completed just five minutes after announcing the end of their four-year marriage.

"I walked in with guns blazing," Lambert said in an interview with Billboard. "I just knew one thing: I didn't want a breakup record. I was like, 'Let's feel it all.' I was ready to have the days where I can't even stand up and the days where I'm celebrating."

Currently, "The House That Built Me" hitmaker is happily dating R&B singer Anderson East after they first met at Nashville's Live on the Green Music Festival in September 2015.

Shelton, on the other hand, has moved on with his "The Voice" colleague, Gwen Stefani.

News
Nicky Gumbel elected to Church of England parliament with a call to put evangelism first 
Nicky Gumbel elected to Church of England parliament with a call to put evangelism first 

The founder of the globally influential Alpha Course, the Rev Nicky Gumbel, has been elected to the Church of England’s General Synod. 

‘Strength does not always look impressive’: living with OCD as a Christian
‘Strength does not always look impressive’: living with OCD as a Christian

Thea Joshi, of the Centre for Mental Health, reflects on living with OCD as a Christian and what churches and fellow Christians can do to help those living with the condition.

Church of England receives £13m under new scheme to preserve historic churches
Church of England receives £13m under new scheme to preserve historic churches

A Church representative said he was conscious many churches had not received the funding they seek.

Petition against ban on church's street preaching delivered to Colchester City Council
Petition against ban on church's street preaching delivered to Colchester City Council

Officials first said the preaching was too loud before moving on to objections about the content.