Shania Twain, a country singer, disclosed that the breakdown of her marriage left her so devastated that she feared she might never sing again.
During her first television interview in five years, Twain expressed to Oprah Winfrey that the emotional turmoil she faced upon discovering in 2008 that her best friend and husband had developed feelings for each other caused her to become ‘an emotional mess.’
“The thought that I would mentally never sing again crossed my mind,” shared the five-time Grammy Award winner with Winfrey.
In her separation from Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, who departed with her best friend Marie-Anne Thiebaud, Twain stated that she lost not only her husband but also her producer and co-writer.
“I hadn’t composed a song without this man for 14 years… How do I even begin?,” she remarked during her interview on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
Twain, whose 1997 album Come on Over achieved massive crossover success, also opened up about her struggle with dysphonia, a condition where the muscles constrict the voice box.
“My fears and anxieties accumulating throughout my life have progressively squeezed my voice,” Twain informed Winfrey. “I was gradually losing it.”
In her latest book, ‘From This Moment On,’ along with a documentary series titled ‘Why Not?’ set to premiere on Sunday on OWN, Winfrey’s cable network, Twain narrates the story of her 14-year marriage’s decline and her battle to reclaim her voice.
Additionally, she announced yesterday her intention to attend the Country Music Association festival in Nashville this June, treating Winfrey’s studio audience with passes.
In her memoir and the accompanying TV documentary, the Canadian singer reflects on her impoverished upbringing, where she regularly witnessed her step-father physically assaulting her mother, only to lose them both in a car accident, which left her with the responsibility of raising her siblings.
Twain referred to her husband’s betrayal as ‘a trigger crisis’ and ‘the final straw of a situation that had been brewing for a long time.’
Ultimately, Twain discovered comfort with Frederic Thiebaud, the spouse of the woman who was once her best friend. The two exchanged vows on January 1.
by Wallace McTavish