LeAnn Rimes is opening up about how she dealt with the public backlash after her affair with her now-husband, Eddie Cibrian, came to light.
In 2008, the country singer, 42, struck up a romance with the CSI: Miami alum, 52, on the set of the Lifetime movie Northern Lights, where they played love interests. At the time, Rimes was married to chef Dean Sheremet, and Cibrian was married to former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville, with whom he shares two sons, Mason, 22, and Jake, 18.
In a recent interview with the health and wellness website Flow Space, the “Blue” hitmaker explained she had a powerful realization after she started getting hate when news of the affair broke — many women who had experienced infidelity were directing their frustration toward her.
“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 admitted. “But so many women don’t know what to do with that anger… I was a target that was just easily projected upon.”
She continued, “And 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. 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.”
Rimes and Cibrian tied the knot in 2011 and have been going strong ever since. Cibrian joked to Flow Space that the secret to their successful marriage is getting a good night’s rest, saying, “We are in bed by 7:30!”
In April, the couple celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary. Rimes shared a sweet throwback snap of them kissing during their nuptials on Instagram, captioning her post, “‘the heart knows when the search is over’ – bliss 14 years 💍 and many, many more! i’m so proud of us! i love you, always @eddiecibrian.”
Seventeen years after the affair, the public has seemingly moved on from their anger, flooding the comment section with sweet messages.
“I love everything about this! 💕,” one fan gushed.
“Happy Anniversary 🥂Finding your perfect partner is amazing!!” a second fan wrote.
“The heart wants what the heart wants. 🥂✨. Wishing you many more. 💕,” a third fan penned.
A fourth fan commented, “So happy for yall and your journey.”
