Chris Blue talks fame, faith and love with WVLT

When you see someone win on a national stage, don't you want to know more? What happened before and after?

With Knoxville native and "The Voice" winner Chris Blue, WVLT News got to dig in a little deeper into his past, present and his hopes for the future. Blue

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WVLT News anchor Ted Hall spoke with Blue and his new wife, Steph, on their journey and why they're so thankful to be together.

First, Blue took Hall to one of their favorite date spots, the West Town Mall parking lot. Chris met Steph five years before his win on "The Voice" at church while she was visiting from London. Back then, his dreams on the big stage were just that, dreams.

The couple told Hall that they hit it off, but were "together-apart" for most of that time before "The Voice." Steph was in London when she started feeling ill.

"They thought I had meningitis," Steph said. But after multiple tests, she said the doctors came back with bad news. They told her "we think you have bone marrow cancer," she told Hall.

Times got very tough for the couple and dangerous for Steph.

"The scariest part for me was knowing she actually flat-lined," Chris said. "A part of me left," Steph said that happened during surgery to remove a brain tumor.

Since then, his wife has recovered. "She's an incredible soul, and sometimes, I wake up and think I don't deserve her." After she was making her recovery, the couple came up with a plan to move to London, but Chris tried out for The Voice first.

"The story people don't know is Chris was petrified," Steph said. She added that every week Chris moved on through the show, he was sure he wasn't going to go further. But he ended up winning the entire show, and the couple stayed in Knoxville.

At first, Steph said she wasn't necessarily in love with Knoxville.

"We didn't know he was gonna win. We had no idea, so I got here and thought it wasn't gonna be that bad, maybe kind of similar to London in some way," Steph said.

Chris broke in to add, "Ted, she hated it. I hated. She hated."

But that didn't last long. Steph grew to love the Makers City, and she now works for the Knoxville Chamber. "All the things I disliked are the things I absolutely love about it. I love the people, Chris and I can't move. I probably love it more than him."

Steph has a burgeoning online presence, known as Steph Bee @stephbee_ on Instagram.

She said she wants to use her platform to help homeless women.

While the Voice win still glows, Chris still scraps for success. He

and has

around East Tennessee.

But now he's looking forward to his future. He told Hall he wants a family and a business where he can blend his faith with show business. And he wants to make it all about Knoxville.

Blue wants to "have something Knoxville can be proud of. A business that is known globally, stationed right here in Knoxville. I believe in this city."