Shania Twain has opened up about her feelings toward her ex-husband, Robert Lange, following his affair with her close friend Marie-Anne Thiébaud. Despite the betrayal, Twain has emphasized that she does not harbour hatred for Lange.
In a recent episode of the ‘Great Company with Jamie Laing’ podcast, the Canadian singer, 58, discussed her perspective on forgiveness and the aftermath of Lange’s infidelity. Twain and Lange married in 1993 but split in 2008 after his affair with Marie-Anne. Twain later married Marie-Anne’s ex-husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, in 2011.
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Twain shared her views on forgiveness during her conversation with host Jamie Laing, explaining, “Forgiveness is in the family of letting go. But forgiveness, more specifically for me anyway, is not about forgetting necessarily. 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.”
Reflecting on her own experience, Twain added, “Do I hate my ex-husband for making a mistake? No. It’s his mistake. Not my mistake. 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.”
Twain, who shares a 22-year-old son, Eja D’Angelo Lange, with her ex-husband, emphasized that she has moved beyond the pain of the affair. She compared this situation to her relationship with her stepfather, Jerry, who subjected her to emotional and physical abuse during her tough childhood.
“My father’s a better example, okay, because this is someone that I totally forgive,” Twain said. “I understand that he wasn’t well, that you don’t act certain ways unless there’s something wrong with you. There’s something wrong with your stability.”
She continued, “I feel bad that he had those problems. So, it’s not for him, not for, you know … So, it’s very hard to hate or not be able to forgive somebody that you believe. He’s a human being who deserves empathy and understanding. I think we all do.”
Twain’s recent comments on the ‘Great Company’ podcast come after she spoke about the affair on the ‘Armchair Expert’ podcast last year. During that conversation, she noted how her now-husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, handled the situation with more composure than she did.
“He was so thoughtful about it all … It was not cool with him, but he was smarter about it,” Twain said. “I was uncontrollably fragile over it, which I had never felt before because I thought for once I was stable. I really believe that I’m safe, so that really devastated me I think more than any other instability I’ve ever felt.”
-Gayathri J