LOS ANGELES — Shania Twain is opening up extensively for the first time since her painful split last May from producer Robert “Mutt” Lange.
In an open letter to her fans, the 43-year-old singer admits that she continues to endure several ups and downs, but has discovered many positives from her painful experience.
“I’m fine and managing very well, in fact. I’m enjoying my child, friends and family like I haven’t in years, and it’s great,” she writes on her official Web site.
Twain split from Lange following his affair with Marie-Anne Thiebaud, the singer’s longtime secretary and manager of the couple’s chateau in Switzerland.
“The personal issues that took place just over a year ago have been well documented, and there’s no need to go into more detail here,” writes Twain. “Since then, I’ve been inspired by my pain to write and use writing as a therapy through the suffering. I truly wouldn’t wish this on anybody as a means to get inspired, but it’s been a productive period with so much emotion trying to find it’s way out.”
The music star expresses her hope to return with a new album and tour, but says it’s difficult to predict when that might happen, particularly with her primary focus on her 7-year-old son with Lange, Eja D’Angelo.
“As many things as there have been to write about through this difficult time in my life, healing is serious business and has taken a lot of the wind out of my sails, slowing me down at times,” says Twain. “As you know, I am a mom and all my energy goes to making sure my little man is healthy and happy in every way.”
Twain says one of the most difficult moments in the past year was a time that she broke down while listening to a song and her son walked in.
“Eja walked up behind me and asked me why I was crying,” she recalls. “He wasn’t sad at first — just totally surprised to see his mom crying (he never saw me cry before), and didn’t know what to make of it.
“During this intense period, I was managing to hide my devastation from Eja and cried only when I was alone; but this one time was just too hard for me to control and I broke down. I was quick on my feet to answer him though and told Eja that music was very powerful and can make people quite emotional. It can make you want to dance, feel angry, happy or sad and that THIS this song was sad and made me cry. He accepted this, hugged me and went back to what he was doing. Phew, that was tough!”
Twain reports that she has settled into a daily routine that allows her plenty of time to focus on new music for her fans.
“Each morning I put my son on the school bus, feed our two dogs Sony and Dolly, drink my orange juice and sit down at the computer to write,” she says. “I spend most of my time working with lyrics right now, sorting thoughts, expressions and concepts. It often comes out in the form of poetry, diary notes or e-mails to friends.”
“My friends are great listeners and are very patient and generous about it,” Twain continues. “I often go back to my e-mails for song ideas. When I write in letter form, I don’t hold back. I just write it as it comes without considering format, topic, manners, etc. Some of my best songwriting ideas are coming this way.”
While she has experienced an emotional year, Twain ended by pointing out some of the positives that have come from her journey.
“I’ve been experiencing and seeing new things every day, living life with a different and more optimistic attitude,” she says. “I’ve jumped out of an airplane at 10,000 feet, I’m riding Spanish and Arabian horses, traveling to exotic places, I’ve been deep sea diving for the first time! I pull the odd all-nighter, read more books, listen to Eja’s favourite music with him, LOUD [ironically his favourite band is ACDC (sic)] and basically I’m enjoying life.”
