The Truth About Shania Twain's Relationship With Her Husband

Ah, celebrity marriages. Is there anything more interesting than a relationship like singer Shania Twain's marriage? Fans just can't get enough of inside looks into their favorite celebrities' lives — and loves. Honestly, who can blame them? There's usually the whole "are they?" or "aren't they?" relationship buildup, the budding romance, the deliciously expensive wedding, and, in many cases, the dramatic, highly-publicized divorce. Come on! It's like the best romance movie, but it's real! Everyone has their favorite celeb marriage, be it Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (that one was a heartbreaker), Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard, or even Barack and Michelle Obama. Shania Twain's marriage, however, is truly one for the books.

The word-famous country singer has a love story that is truly epic. "I am actually grateful for what I've gone through and wouldn't change a thing," Twain wrote in her tell-all memoir titled From This Moment On (via Oprah.com). "Although I admit I wouldn't want to live it over again, either. Once was enough." But what actually happened? Here is the truth about Shania Twain's relationship with her husband.

It's pretty interesting that Shania Twain became friends with her future husband when she was still married to her first husband, Mutt Lange. But how Mutt became her ex-husband is even stranger. According to People, Lange told Twain he wanted a divorce in the summer of 2008, but he didn't give her a reason for wanting out of their 14-year marriage. Twain and Lange were very good friends with Marie-Anne and Frédéric Thiébaud at the time — so close, in fact, that Marie-Anne was the person Twain went to when her husband approached her about a divorce. "I said, 'Marie-Anne, don't you think my husband is acting strange?'" Twain dished on Oprah. "And she said, 'No, I don't see anything strange.'" 

Well, according to Twain, Marie-Anne was lying. She was reportedly having an affair with Mutt Lange! Though Lange vehemently denied it, claiming in the People interview that the breakup was "literally just a growing apart," sources close to Twain and, eventually, Twain, herself, confirmed his infidelity.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that the double betrayal of her husband and her best friend left Shania Twain devastated and broken. "I was ready to die," she wrote in her memoir From This Moment On (per People). Twain lashed out in her pain, begging Marie-Anne Thiébaud for an explanation and finally sending her a heartbreaking email that read, "If you could see me crying and suffering, maybe you would have pity. Find love somewhere else from someone else that isn't hurting two families so much." The singer's devastation also took a toll on her physical health. Shortly after the divorce, she was diagnosed with dysphonia, a condition in which the voice box is squeezed too tight by the surrounding muscles. The condition, though unrelated to the breakup, was worsened by the stress and left her unable to sing.

"I didn't want to love again — it was the last thing on my mind," she told People. Who can blame her? But, slowly, her bond with Frédéric Thiébaud grew, even though she didn't want it to at first. "I rejected it initially," she explained. "But I couldn't control Fred's love for me and how easy he is to love."

Shania Twain was in a dark place when she found out about her ex-husband's affair. "It was like I was kicked off my own bus while it was moving full speed ahead, and I landed in the dirt and everything I had was thrown out after me," she explained to Redbook. "And after tumbling and getting a mouthful of dirt, I had to try to stand up, and then figure out where I was and start walking." As it turned out, she walked right into the arms of Frédéric Thiébaud.

Their romance didn't start right away, as she wasn't ready for love initially (per People). It was the way that Thiébaud handled the scandal and heartbreak that made Twain see him in a new light. "I got to observe Fred going through the same thing I was, and I admired how he handled it," she went on to say in the Redbook interview. That is where I fell in love with him, because he was so exemplary in every way."

Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud got serious pretty fast. According to People, the pair began officially dating in 2009 and got engaged in December of 2010 — with a gorgeous, sparkling, three-carat solitaire diamond ring (per People). Thiébaud gushed about his soon-to-be-bride on Oprah, saying, "She's a true angel."

The lovebirds didn't wait long to tie the knot after they got engaged. Just one short month later — on New Year's Day 2011 — they were wed in an intimate, sunset ceremony in Rincon, Puerto Rico, as reported by People. Only 40 people were in attendance as Twain and Thiébaud exchanged vows, but that's exactly the way they wanted it. "My closest friends and family say they haven't seen me this free-spirited and happy in years," Twain revealed to People. "And it's true. It's definitely true." In a website post (per People), Twain went on to say of her new husband, "Frédéric Nicolas Thiébaud has been a true gift to me as a compassionate, understanding friend ... an amazing love has blossomed from this precious friendship."

Frédéric Nicolas Thiébaud is just an average, Swiss-born executive working for Nestle (as per CountryFancast). How can he keep a global superstar like Shania Twain so deliriously happy? He treats her right. The curly-haired Swede uses his actions as well as his words, since, as he told Daily Mail, "to express my love, words are not enough. I'm more in love with her every day."

One wonderful example of Thiébaud's romantic actions is the time he made Shania Twain a surprise snack. "The other day I was showering ... He knew I hadn't eaten yet," the singer dished to Redbook. "I could hear chopping and singing ... I came out of the bathroom, and he'd set up a little table with a note saying, 'I love you — Fred.' And there was a glass of wine and this beautiful salad with little tomatoes and flowers all around the edges." Frédéric Thiébaud is really setting the bar high for husbands everywhere.

Back in 2011, Shania Twain had a docu-series on OWN called Why Not? with Shania Twain. The show follows Twain as she deals with her past traumas and finds her voice again. She visits her hometown in Ontario, where she consults doctors, vocal coaches, and grief counselors, and she even sits down with others who have experienced similar traumas. Where did Twain get the idea for the show? Her husband, Frédéric Thiébaud.

As Twain shared with Redbook, she and her husband were in Italy for his birthday when he began recording her on his phone. After watching the footage she thought, "I've never seen myself like this before. I've never seen myself so devastated." She continued on to say, "And I realized I didn't want to run away anymore. I wanted to face it ... I have to document everything." Twain's docu-series shows a stripped down and very real side of the singer. What was her intention? "I hope that people benefit from the candid footage. I'm human, you're human, we all go through the same doo-doo. No need for makeup, lights, action."

From a highly publicized marriage to her music producer former husband and a scandalous affair that almost took her voice to a fresh romance and a new lease on life, Shania Twain has been through a lot. But does she regret it? No. Does she think all the pain and suffering were worth her current happiness? Absolutely. The singer is grateful for the way things turned out. As she explained in an interview with Belfast Telegraph, "I had to meet this horrible betraying friend in order to meet this extraordinary man. And I had to meet Mutt to have this child who is the absolute center of my life."

Her gratefulness doesn't take away from the betrayal she and her husband had to endure. Nor does it make her forget it. "I definitely forgive. I just don't forget," she told Belfast Telegraph. "This will haunt me forever. It is impossible to forget." But no matter what, Twain and Thiébaud's relationship is still wonderful. As Twain told Belfast Telegraph, "We both can't believe it still. It's incredible. It is a beautifully incredible thing that is like a miracle."