Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani hold hands in Nashville; Miranda Lambert grateful for ‘bright spot’

Now that Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani have confirmed their dating status, they’re letting their PDA do the rest of the talking.

Not that “The Voice” mentors were shying away from it all that much -- those photos of them cuddling at Jared Leto’s Halloween party over the weekend weren’t exactly fueling the denials...

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The country singer, 39, and No Doubt frontwoman, 46, were photographed together again on Wednesday walking into Warner Bros. Music’s CMA Awards after-party in Music Square shortly after midnight and were holding drinks and hands, according to several outlets that obtained the images.

The rocker, who split from her husband of 13 years, Gavin Rossdale, in August, joined her new man for an impromptu trip to Nashville on Tuesday, sparking rumors that she might be attending the Country Music Assn. Awards too. Alas, the mother of three did not have the correct wardrobe for the show, TMZ said, and joined Shelton at the after-parties instead.

People reported that Shelton and Stefani have even taken their relationship to the next level -- professionally, that is -- co-writing a mid-tempo country ballad in which Shelton returns to his “real country” roots. It should be noted that Shelton and his ex-wife, country star Miranda Lambert, also co-wrote a few songs together. Hey, it’s Nashville!

“Sangria” singer Shelton received a gentle walloping during co-hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood’s CMA Awards opening monologue, which lamented the loss of a former power couple that was sitting right in the audience: Kermit and Miss Piggy. Paisley then redirected the awkward moment to his pal Shelton saying, “On an unrelated note, howdy, Blake!” The cameras then panned to Shelton, who was smiling and laughing at the inevitable barb.

“Thanks for being a great sport @Blakeshelton. Love ya bro,” Paisley tweeted after the show, to which Shelton replied: “Ha!!! Don’t worry brother man. If there’s anybody on earth who’s learned to take it its me!!! Love you buddy.”

Lambert, who Shelton divorced in July after five years of dating followed by four years of marriage, was also in the front row of the audience. The country darlings were seated about 10 seats and an aisle apart, according to People. Both were up for awards and both performed during the show.

Confirmation of Shelton and Stefani’s romance didn’t break until just before the show and didn’t become fodder for the hosts. However, when accepting her award for female vocalist of the year (her sixth!), we can only assume that Lambert was alluding to her high-profile split in her acceptance speech.

“Hi guys, thank you so much,” she said. “Man, I appreciate it. I needed a bright spot this year, so thank you.”

Miranda Lambert accepts the award for female vocalist of the year at the 49th CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

Shelton later took to Twitter to reflect on the evening -- and perhaps his new couple news.

“Awesome night tonight. So many great things happening in my life,” he wrote, also congratulating the night’s big winner, Chris Stapleton.

Meanwhile, the gossips churned out story after story about Lambert’s reaction to her husband’s new romance.

“She had her suspicions, but didn’t really know it was a real thing until the announcement last night,” a source told Us Weekly on Thursday. “But she doesn’t care. She’s divorced and he can date who he wants.”

“Miranda tried to seem happy, but you could tell she was hurting,” a backstage eyewitness at the show told ET Online. “It was a great night for her because she won an award, but still hard for her.”

ET also reported that the “Little Red Wagon” singer agreed that her black Versace gown was “absolutely” a “revenge dress.”

Follow me on Twitter @NardineSaad.