"I think I was close to calling it a day right when COVID hit," he told host Carson Daly.
"And then, because of COVID, I didn’t want to walk away from the show and leave everybody in a bind," he added. "I mean, this show changed my life. I’ll stay here until the world kind of gets back to normal again."
Blake Shelton first announced he is leaving "The Voice" in October 2022. (NBC via Getty Images)
Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani tied the knot in July 2021. (Getty Images)
Not only did "The Voice" change his life professionally, Shelton noted it also changed things for him personally.
"I met my wife on this show," Shelton said. "It’s changed my life in every way it possibly can, from a personal standpoint."
Shelton and Gwen Stefani first met in 2014 while coaching for "The Voice." At the time, the two were both in other relationships. However, the pair went through divorces in the summer of 2015 and eventually began dating.
Shelton proposed to Stefani in 2020 and the two got married the following year.
"When I came on as a coach on this show, I mean, everything in my life was turned upside down," Shelton told the outlet. "And in a good way, you know? This has been incredible, but it’s time, you know. It’s time for not even what’s next. A little bit of nothing would be nice."
Kelly Clarkson will return to "The Voice" for season 23 after sitting out for a year. She and Shelton are joined by two brand-new hosts, Niall Horan and Chance the Rapper.
Shelton joked to the "Today" show hosts that if Clarkson had not come back, he might have stayed on.
"I’d like for Kelly to not be on the show anymore," he said.
"I just think there’s too much Kelly Clarkson on television, in general," the country star joked.
Blake Shelton appears on Kelly Clarkson's talk show. (Getty Images)