LeAnn Rimes is addressing an infamous elephant in the room: her affair with actor, and now-husband, Eddie Cibrian.
In an interview with Flow Space, Rimes recounted the fallout from the affair, which began on set of the 2009 Lifetime movie “Northern Lights,” when the pair fell for each other although they were both married to other people.
“I realized very quickly that there are a lot of women who’ve been hurt. Like, I’ve been on both sides of that coin – I’ve been cheated on, too, so I know that feeling,” Rimes said. “But so many women don’t know what to do with that anger. … I was a target that was just easily projected upon.”
LeAnn Rimes says she ‘panicked’ after teeth fell out onstage
At the time, Cibrian was married to “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Brandi Glanville while Rimes was married to celebrated chef Dean Sheremet. Cibrian and Glanville share two sons, Mason and Jake.
Rimes said that “once I realized that, things got a lot easier. Instead of taking it so personally, it’s like, look: This is not all my pain to carry.”
She added that “I know what I’m responsible for in the situation and making amends for that. But you know, the world’s pain is not mine to carry, and I think that really got thrown at me for a long time.”
Glanville spoke openly about the end of her marriage on Bravo’s “RHOBH.”
The “Can’t Fight The Moonlight” singer and former child star also referred to the emotional work she had to do after facing harsh media coverage, from tabloid fodder to internet furor towards the pair, during “all of the craziness we went through.”
“Starting as a child star (I had) all this protection,” Rimes points out. “But it was like, if I want to live a fulfilling life, I’ve got to learn how to let that guard down. To me, it was either I was going to die, or I had to confront it. It was complete survival.”
These days though, Rimes has gotten better with age: “You cannot pay me to go back to my 20s – just, no thank you. I’ll take the wrinkles,” telling Flow Space that “I felt very alone in this world for a long time. I don’t necessarily feel that way anymore, … I don’t feel like I’m ever in hiding.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LeAnn Rimes addresses Eddie Cibrian affair
