Shania Twain Opens Up About Painful Divorce After Her Husband Cheated On Her With Her Best Friend | "I Don’t Want Love"

Editor's note: This article was originally published on October 21, 2022. It has since been updated.

Shania Twain is a world-famous country singer that needs no introduction. With hits like "You're Still the One" or "Any Man of Mine," the musician knows a thing or two about love. While she enjoyed global superstardom in the 90s, she's also suffered immense heartbreak in her life. 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. According to EW, in her autobiography, From This Moment On, the 57-year-old revealed that her husband left her for her best friend in 2008. She wrote, “I’ll be honest: when your husband leaves you, and falls into the arms of your close friend, your self-esteem can really suffer.”

The pop star, in fact, begged her best friend to leave her husband in an email saying, “I don’t want life or love anymore… Why are you torturing me? Let it go. Pleeeeeaaaaaaasssseee!!!!!” The heartbreak was so painful the singer cried constantly and took five baths a day. She even began calling Marie-Anne Thiébaud a female anatomical epithet saying that “It was kind of cathartic. (Harsh, I know, but after all, it is only a word.) My emotions were so balled up inside me that it felt good to release.”

Finally, she found comfort in the most unlikely of places: Marie-Anne's ex-husband! The couple first met in the 1990s when they were both married to other people. But after their partners' affairs (with each other), Twain and Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, found solace in each other. "The person to comfort me was Fred because he's been through the exact same thing," Twain told Oprah Winfrey about the beginnings of the couple's relationship. "Fred was safe. So it was really a beautiful and perfect friendship."

The two became official in 2009 and a year later, they got engaged. According to PEOPLE, on New Year's Day 2011, Twain and the Swiss businessman tied the knot in a small sunset ceremony in Rincon, Puerto Rico. "[He] has been the most constant companion and support," Twain explained in 2010. "We leaned on one another through the ups and downs, taking turns holding each other up. We've become stronger and closer through it all, as have our children, Eja and Johanna." The way her husband dealt with the heartbreak, made her fall in love with how vulnerable and strong he was. "I got to observe Fred going through the same thing I was and I admired how he handled it," Twain said. "That is where I fell in love with him, because he was so exemplary in every way."

References:

https://ew.com/article/2011/05/03/shania-twain-abuse/

https://people.com/music/shania-twain-frederic-thiebaud-relationship-timeline/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Andreas Rentz