 The song was inspired by her divorce from Bush lead singer , Gavin Rossdale ; Stefani wrote several songs during these recording sessions to start " a new chapter in her life " . In an interview with Today 's Matt Lauer , Stefani stated that the majority of her recent studio work would discuss her breakup with Rossdale . Billboard stated that the lyrics " Are you sure you wanna love me ? / I know that it 's a lot to handle me / But it is what it is / It 's all part of my broken history " were " ultra personal " . In his description of the track , Glenn Gamboa of Newsday stated that " ' Asking 4 It ' strikes at the heart of pop radio " while Jillian Mapes of Pitchfork Media described " Asking 4 It " as " the album 's sole feature atop an unconvincing beat . " Nicholaus James Jodlowski of Reporter felt that the album 's " sound cools down a little " , but that the track " is still easy to dance to " . 
