LeAnn Rimes is opening up about her mental health.
In a new interview with People — part of the magazine’s Let’s Talk About It mental health initiative — the singer talks about her battles with depression and anxiety.
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“At first I didn’t want to face my pain because I thought I would get lost in it,” Rimes says. “But I didn’t. People are so ashamed to talk about it and ask for help. But taking away the shame is so important.”
As a child superstar at 14, Rimes was struggling behind the scenes.
“There was so much emptiness and sadness amidst joy,” the 37-year-old says. “And I had to be LeAnn Rimes, the entity, not LeAnn Rimes, the person. I was very fragmented.”
Things reached a breaking point during her 2010 divorce from Dean Sheremet and her affair with now-husband Eddie Cibrian.
“There was something in the press every week that was just so fabricated,” she recalls. “Obviously there are mistakes that I take great responsibility for. But my whole life I had cared what everyone thought of me. So the public shaming was a deep thing that I took on.”
Rimes adds, “I had so much underlying grief. Everything accumulated and I had to give in.”
After her 30th birthday, Rimes entered treatment.
“It was the first night I was ever alone, ever,” she says. “There was a lot of co-dependency. And a lot of healing that needed to be done.”
The singer now focuses on self-care and enjoys spending time alone: “I know who I am now. And I try to keep things in perspective. The need for others’ approval has changed big-time. Self-worth is key.”
