NO DOUBT - STEFANI THANKS EX FOR HER TALENT

NO DOUBT star GWEN STEFANI owes her songwriting talents and personal strength to bandmate and former boyfriend TONY KANAL - because she was nothing before he dumped her.

The pair remained friends and bandmates after the break-up, which Stefani credits for turning her into a real woman.

She explains, "Him breaking up with me was the most incredible thing, because, before that, I was a very passive person who was dependent on him for my happiness.

"I was only 17 when I started seeing him, and I never had any other serious boyfriends before that, so I glamorised the relationship and I was so in love.

"When he broke up with me, I started writing all these songs, and I found my talent, which was the most empowering thing that ever happened to me."