Shania Twain says it took her decades to fully accept and appreciate her own body after she was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child.
Famous for her female empowerment songs, Twain, 57, faced years of self-loathing in private as she came to terms with the abuse she suffered at the hands of her stepfather Jerry from the age of 10.
And the Grammy-winning singer, now happily married to her second husband, Frédéric Thiébaud, was robbed of the chance to confront her stepfather after a car accident claimed the lives of Jerry and his mother, Sharon, in 1987.
Opening: Shania Twain says it took her decades to fully accept and appreciate her own body after she was sexually abused by her stepfather as a child.
She said Mirror: ‘When I was fondled as a child, it made me withdraw from wanting to grow up to be a woman. She hated my body.
A direct reference to her new sense of self, Twain, who first revealed her sexual abuse in 2018, poses topless in promotional artwork for her latest album, Queen of Me.
“I went into the most awkward scenario I could think of, which was a naked photo shoot,” she explained.
And that’s what I did. I just faced it head on. It’s probably something I should have done much earlier in my life, but I feel like I’ve made a turn, a very important one. It’s about self-empowerment and taking charge of your fears.
Devastating: Twain faced years of private self-loathing as he came to terms with the abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather Jerry from the age of 10.
Old times: The singer, who never knew her biological father, in an undated photo from her childhood in Ontario, Canada
The singer, who never knew her biological father, admitted that poverty was the norm growing up in Ontario, Canada, and that a lack of money caused friction between Jerry and his mother, who was prone to bouts of depression.
Appearing on a US chat show Today in January, Twain admitted that his early difficulties shaped who he is today, describing them as “a double-edged sword.”
She said: ‘There are elements of that, of going through all those hardships that make you stronger. What you survive makes you stronger, but on the other hand you develop insecurities.’
Tragedy: The star first claimed that her stepfather Jerry Twain abused her in 2018
Bold Step: A direct reference to her newfound sense of self, Twain poses topless in promotional artwork for her latest album, Queen of Me.
Twain has returned to work after falling seriously ill with COVID-19 at the height of the global pandemic.
The singer admitted that she was having trouble breathing, prompting her husband Frédéric to arrange emergency airlift from their home on Lake Geneva, Switzerland.
“It was progressively worse. My vital signs were getting worse…and eventually I had to evacuate air,” she told The Mirror.
‘It was like science fiction, I felt like I was going to another planet or something. Everything happened in slow motion,” she said.
Concern: Twain has returned to work after falling seriously ill with COVID-19 at the height of the global pandemic, prompting her husband Frédéric to arrange emergency airlift from their home.
Twain revealed that her husband was “freaked out” and desperately trying to find her a free hospital bed, which was very limited during that time.
“I would spend hours and hours every day on the phone, trying to coordinate an air evacuation, trying to line up a bed since there wasn’t one, checking my vital signs. It was a real nightmare for him,” she explained.
After arriving at the hospital, the singer was placed in isolation and later treated with plasma therapy.
She added: ‘It took several days to start developing antibodies, so it was a very dangerous and very scary time. I made it and I am very grateful.