Country music star Shania Twain has spoken about the severe physical abuse she and her sisters endured during their childhood in Ontario, Canada. In a recent interview on NPR's "Wild Card with Rachel Martin" podcast, Twain, 60, described her home as "very violent," detailing instances where she and her siblings were "smacked around a lot, and kicked around sometimes, literally kicked around."
Twain revealed that she witnessed brutal fights between her mother, Sharon, and stepfather, Jerry Twain. The violence often escalated to a point where it affected the children, with Twain recalling that if she was "standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, definitely" she would be physically disciplined. She noted that both her parents were "pretty harsh physically."
The singer's parents struggled with severe financial hardship, which often triggered intense arguments. Twain described the fights as violent, stating that her mother would sometimes lose clumps of hair and be bruised, and that "our house would shake" during these altercations. She likened the experience to a "really bad thunderstorm."
Twain's mother reportedly attempted to leave Jerry Twain on multiple occasions, but would often return. She married Jerry after divorcing Twain's biological father when Twain was two. Jerry adopted Twain and her sisters. Tragically, Sharon and Jerry Twain died in a head-on car crash in 1987 when Twain was 22, just as her music career was beginning.
This is not the first time Twain has disclosed details about the abuse in her childhood. In her 2011 memoir, "From This Moment On," she wrote about experiencing emotional and physical abuse from Jerry Twain. She recounted an incident where she intervened in a fight between her parents and was subsequently punched in the jaw by Jerry.
In 2018, Twain revealed that Jerry Twain had also subjected her to sexual abuse, which began around the age of 10. She described how sexual abuse, when perpetrated by someone known to the victim, often intertwines with physical and psychological abuse. Twain stated that she learned to cope by recognizing the abuser as unwell and manipulative.
Twain has also spoken about her current marriage to Frederic Thiebaud, crediting open communication for its strength. She contrasted this with her previous marriage to Robert 'Mutt' Lange, which ended after his alleged affair with Thiebaud's then-wife. Twain and Thiebaud, who bonded over their shared experience of infidelity, married in 2011.