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Shania Twain revealed she pushed her body to dangerous extremes in a desperate attempt to stay thin.
In a candid conversation about aging and body image, Twain revealed that her pursuit of thinness led to unhealthy habits.
“I was malnourished,” Twain told The Times. “To be thinner.”
When menopause brought changes she couldn’t control in 2019, the “You’re Still the One” singer said she was forced to rethink her relationship with her body.
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Shania Twain opened up about her struggles with body image and menopause, revealing that years of restrictive dieting and intense exercise left her malnourished. (Catherine Powel)
“In menopause you lose control of your body,” Twain, now 60, admitted. “So all of a sudden I’m bloating, and I’m definitely not in control. I can’t just lose five pounds.”
Twain said the physical changes soon sparked a crisis of confidence.
“I stopped looking at myself in the mirror,” she recalled. “I hated my body. I’m, like, ‘Oh, I cannot stand this changing body.’ But that was so unhealthy. Who cannot look at themselves in the mirror?”
Twain had launched herself into a vigorous exercise routine plus cut out sugar and fats.
“I was doing very unhealthy things,” she admitted. “And I was working my body more than I was feeding it, to keep up with the strain.”
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What once felt devastating ultimately became a lesson in self-acceptance for Twain.
“Now I’m like, bring on the mirrors, I’m going to look at myself all day long!” she explained. “Menopause has been very good for me because I’ve learned that some things you cannot control.”
The Canadian-born singer broke through in country music with her 1995 album “The Woman in Me,” which launched her path to global superstardom. (Stephane Cardinale/Sygma/Getty Images)
Before becoming one of country music’s biggest stars, Twain said she spent decades feeling uncomfortable in her own skin.
“I’ve been very shy about my body from a very young age … to the point where I would not go to the beach in a bathing suit,” Twain told “Extra” in 2023. “I would say probably really tortured by it from the age of 10.”
The country music star spoke about landing her first hit song, “You’re Still the One.” She released the ballad in 1998 and noted that the music video was something different from her daily life at the time.
“I was 30 when I had my first radio hit. … In that video, I’m braless, I’m allowing the platform of stepping out of my daily self into this world of video-making and making decisions that give me this freedom to, like, do things I wouldn’t normally do in my daily life,” Twain told the outlet.
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Shania Twain said she learned to embrace the aspects of aging she could not control and developed a healthier relationship with her body. (Brian Friedman/Dick Clark Productions)
More than three decades into her career, Twain’s influence can still be heard across country and pop music.
Often called the “Queen of Country Pop,” she has sold over 100 million records worldwide and helped pave the way for later crossover superstars, all while overcoming personal tragedy, health challenges, and long breaks from the spotlight.
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Yet she isn’t ready to put on the brakes.
“I’m not slowing down, and I’ll tell you why,” she told The Times.
“I just keep finding new things that I love to do. I’ve got a genuine explorer’s heart and I haven’t run out of things to explore. And maybe I will,” she said before correcting herself, “No! I never will. I mean, come on, there’s always a new flower, new recipe, new horse – there’s always something new.”
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