Famous country singer Shania Twain is well-known for her singing prowess. Despite the ups and downs throughout her life, she has always tried to do her best to keep singing. It was as much for her fans as it was for herself.
All the trauma that she endured as a child and putting her career on stand-by in 1987 to take care of her four younger siblings after the tragic passing away of her parents did not stop Shania from rising to fame like a shining beacon when she met rock producer Robert ‘Mutt’ Lange.
The duo had met in June 1993 after many conversations over the telephone since Lange had offered to produce and write songs with her after he heard her debut album. They became close very quickly, resulting in their marriage in December 1993.
Shania Married Her First Husband And Made Music Magic
Shania Twain — born Eileen Regina Edwards — was adopted by her stepfather Jerry Twain after her mother remarried when the singer was only four years old.
Her name was Eileen Twain until she was signed to a record label in 1992. Only then did she change her name to Shania — an Ojibwa word that meant ‘on my way.’
And she was on her way; Shania’s marriage to Mutt Lange was the consequence of what could only be called a whirlwind romance.
The fact that they had a spark cannot be denied considering that their first call lasted for three hours during which they were just singing or playing their original songs to each other. They had their first and only child Eja (pronounced Asia) D’Angelo Lange on August 12, 2001.
“I didn’t want to be too forward,” Shania said about her first call with Mutt, in her Netflix documentary Not Just A Girl in which she revealed her worst fears, “but in my mind, I’m saying, ‘Oh wow, if this guy made my music sound like that, that would be the dream’.”
The No One Needs To Know singer’s career reached new heights with the release of her second album The Woman In Me, which she either wrote or co-wrote with Lange.
The couple’s chemistry garnered four albums: The Woman in Me (1995), Come On Over (1997), Up! (2002), and Greatest Hits (2004).
Shania's Best Friend Grew Close With The Singer's Husband
Shania Twain, also known as the ‘Queen Of Country Music’ and rightly so, has always depended on music as she finds solace in it. “I like expressing myself through music … that’s the way I express myself best,” she told the Independent in a 2017 interview while talking about her first post-divorce album Now.
The Twain-Lange family moved to Switzerland in the 1990s and this was where You’re Still The One Singer met Marie-Anne Thiébaud, who was hired by Shania as an assistant who would help her take care of her home and family.
It didn’t take long for the two families to become close. Everything was going well between Shania and her husband so when Robert suddenly asked for a divorce in 2008, the Rock This Country! the singer was shocked, even more so since Lange refused to give her a proper reason.
However, truth prevailed and soon, Shania find out about Robert’s affair with her then-best friend Mary-Anne, through none other than Frédéric, who was then Mary-Anne’s husband. Frédéric was the first person to find out about the affair through receipts and phone bills in his wife’s suitcase.
"I did discover the affair with my wife and Mutt," Thiébaud had told Oprah Winfrey. "I said, 'Guys, now you have to tell [Shania]. This is ridiculous. You just owe her that'."
When Shania confronted her friend about it, Marie-Anne denied the accusation and changed her phone number so that Twain wouldn’t be able to contact her again.
Shania Eventually Moved On With Her Former Friend's Husband
Having a rough childhood, losing her parents, and almost losing her voice when she was at the peak of her career could not do what betrayal and separation from her husband of 14 years did to Shania Twain.
“I needed the wake-up,” the country superstar said to Oprah Winfrey of her divorce while discussing her moving-forward process during a 2011 interview.
Twain, who is powerful enough to teach a life lesson to British singer Harry Styles without knowing that she has, was bound to make a comeback in the music industry.
Although her divorce did leave an impact on her career, it wasn’t strong enough to halt the progress of the trailblazer that Shania Twain is.
The Canadian singer had slightly more trouble moving on in her personal life. After her divorce, the only person who could understand Shania's pain was the other jilted lover, Frédéric Thiébaud.
Their friendship might have been the result of the pain they had suffered, but it was also the only thing that could heal them both from the damage they had survived.
It wasn’t long before Frédéric caught feelings for the country singer, but Twain had a hard time accepting his love. "I didn't want to love again — it was the last thing on my mind," she had told People.
"I rejected it initially. "But I couldn't control Fred's love for me and how easy he is to love." Frederic managed to make his way into her heart, and they finally got married in December 2011.
“Yes, it’s a passionate love on every level. I used to be very monotone in my relationships,” Shania spoke of the love between her and her current husband to Guardianwhile discussing her struggle some life in a 2018 interview.
Thought the two had quite the journey to find each other, they've remained happily married ever since.
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