"It's like a renaissance period for me. To be experiencing it as a relevant artist still, that's rewarding," said Shania Twain.
Shania Twain has been through so much in her life and is now a living example of never giving up. The stunning 57-year-old has risen from the ashes and is back not just professionally but also in every other aspect of her life. The That Don't Impress Me Much singer is stronger than ever and felt it the perfect time to release her new album Queen of Me. Twain also found love again with her second husband Frédéric Thiébaud, 52 after the couple first met in the 1990s when they were both married to other people. In fact, Twain's husband of 14 years Robert "Mutt" Lange allegedly had an affair with her best friend Marie-Anne, a longtime secretary and manager of the couple’s chateau in Switzerland. Marie-Anne's ex-husband was... Frédéric Thiébaud! After their partners' affairs (with each other), Twain and Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, found solace in each other and they've been together ever since.
"It was a very low period in my life," Twain shared of the time her first husband cheated on her with her best friend in PEOPLE's cover story. The betrayal caused Twain to sink into a depression. But the curse turned into a blessing as she was able to find love again. This time real, beautiful kind of love. In 2018, she also had to go through open-throat surgery to strengthen the weakened nerves as a result of Lyme disease from a 2004 tick bit "I may not be able to [sing] forever," she said, "but right now I'm just enjoying where I am."
Despite the struggles, "I really found such a wonderful life," Twain confessed. "It's like a renaissance period for me. To be experiencing it as a relevant artist still, that's rewarding," Twain said of her upcoming sixth studio album. "I feel a renewed confidence. I don't have anything to prove anymore, and I feel freedom in that."
More recently Twain opened up about her upbringing and how she endured tough challenges growing up in poverty in Ontario, Canada, with her four siblings, mom, Sharon, and stepfather. She was only ten years old when she experienced sexual abuse by her stepfather. When she was 4, Shania was legally adopted by Jerry Twain after her mom married him. In an interview with The Sunday Times, the 57-year-old singer said she would hide parts of her body as a means of coping because she grew up terrified to be a girl. "I hid myself and I would flatten my b**bs," the Man! I Feel Like a Woman! singer said. "I would wear bras that were too small for me, and I'd wear two, play it down until there was nothing girl about me. Make it easier to go unnoticed. Because, oh my gosh, it was terrible — you didn't want to be a girl in my house." Slowly Shania learned to fight back to defend herself and her mother. “I think a lot of that was anger, not courage,” she admitted candidly. “And it took a long time to manage that anger.” She added, “You don’t want to be somebody that attacks me on the street. Because I will f*cing rip your head off if I get the chance.”
Now she wants her latest album to represent everything that she has conquered so far, including her insecurity as a young girl growing up. “I didn’t do it when I was younger, so I’m going to do it now. I’m going to feel and show that I feel comfortable in my own skin,” the singer proudly confessed in an interview with TalkShopLive.
The cover art of her latest album includes one picture where Twain strategically places a hat in front of her to cover her torso. In a sense it was her liberating herself from her past insecurities and being free to be herself. “Trust me, this took courage because I am so not an exhibitionist. It was all about my own message to myself. Just saying, you know, it’s just time to feel comfortable in my own skin and share that with other people and just share those insecurities,” Twain explained.
References:
https://people.com/country/shania-twain-reclaiming-throne-after-heartbreak-health-setbacks/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Amy Sussman
