Shania Twain is one of the most legendary singer-songwriters of the 1990s and early 2000s, with many considering her among the best of that generation of performers.
Many will also know that the producer of some of her music was her ex-husband, Robert “Mutt” Lange, whom she was married to from 1993 up until their separation in 2008 and eventual divorce in 2010.
One major reason for the couple’s eventual separation was due to Lange’s infidelity, having cheated on Twain with the singer’s close friend and personal secretary, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.
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Speaking candidly about her feelings regarding the situation now over 15 years following their separation, Twain explained that her ex-husband’s infidelity, while sorrowful, has not made her hate Lang. She expressed a very common sentiment of people in similar situations to her own: she may forgive, but she will not forget.
"Forgiveness is in the family of letting go. But forgiveness, more specifically for me anyway, is not about forgetting necessarily,” Twain explained to Jamie Laing when she appeared on his podcast, Great Company, on May 28.
“It's about understanding the other person, and that might mean that they're wrong ... Maybe you believe forever that whatever they did was wrong.”
Robert Lange reportedly cheated on Shania for nearly the entire duration of their marriage, with the truth coming out when he decided to separate from the singer in 2008. Since then, Lange and Marie-Anne Thiébaud are believed to be living a quiet and married life together to this day.
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Twain continued: “Do I hate my ex-husband for making a mistake? No. It's his mistake. Not my mistake… [I feel] So sad for him that he made such a great mistake that he has to live with. And I don't know what that is, but it's not. That's not my weight.”
The You’re Still the One singer went on to marry Frédéric Thiébaud, Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, in the aftermath of her 2010 divorce. And, while she hasn’t fully forgotten the wrongdoings of Lang and the infidelity he committed during their relationship, she has grown to learn that empathy is the best policy for her in the long run.
Twain explained: “He’s a human being that deserves empathy and understanding. I think we all do, you know?”
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While Lange and Twain’s interactions have become few and far between, they do still take pride in being co-parents to their now-22-year-old son, Eja.
Topics: Celebrity, Music, Podcast, Sex and Relationships
Dylan Murray