Gwen Stefani Gets Protection From Rich Obsessed Fan Who Threatened Suicide

Gwen Stefani has a fan so obsessed, he threatened to kill himself because he couldn't bear looking at photos showing her tripping.

Gwen just snagged a 3-year restraining order against Richard Portnoy -- the guy who showed up recently at her acupuncturist's office to catch her walking in.

But according to Gwen, Portnoy's done a lot more to scare and annoy her. He's shown up at her home on numerous occasions with flowers, candy, cards and letters.

According to the testimony, Portnoy wrote her a letter saying he had concluded she wasn't happy in her present life and he felt he could change that.

Portnoy is rich ... he lives in a gated community and drives expensive cars, including a Porsche and a Mercedes.

As for the tripping incident, Portnoy showed up at Gwen's doorstep, saw her dad and told him he had seen photos of her tripping, adding, if she was hurt, he didn't know if he could go on living.