LeAnn Rimes says she sought treatment in 2012 for anxiety over her Eddie Cibrian affair: ‘The public shaming was a deep thing’
LeAnn Rimes is opening up about her battle with anxiety and depression.
On Wednesday’s episode of The Tamron Hall Show, the 38-year-old singer talked about checking herself into a mental health facility in 2012 as she said: ‘It was the best gift I could’ve given myself.’
Being pushed to the edge following a career in the spotlight that began when she was just 13-years-old, Rimes said, ‘It felt like somebody plugged me into a wall socket and left me on.’
Asking for help: LeAnn Rimes, 38, talks about her battle with anxiety and depression on Wednesday’s episode of The Tamron Hall Show as she said checking herself into treatment in 2012 ‘was the best gift I could’ve given myself’; seen in January
In a clip from the interview the Masked Singer winner spoke about ‘codependency.’
‘I had never been alone really until being in treatment for anxiety and depression,’ as she said, ‘I constantly had people around me my whole life, whether it be parents, my ex-husband, a manager or agent, all the world’s eyes were on me constantly.’
Talking about her career which skyrocketed after she was the youngest artist to win a Grammy at the age of 14 – taking home Best New Artist and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for Blue – she went on to record 15 albums and was slammed with TV and film projects.
‘I needed to figure out how to unravel from that and bring myself back,’ she said as she added she knew she desperately ‘needed help,’ but was ‘scared to be alone.’
Codepency: Despite an undying need for treatment she said that she was ‘scared to be alone’ and had had never been by herself ‘until being in treatment for anxiety and depression’; seen in 2011 in NYC
Realizing that treatment was the only option to fix her fractured being, she said: ‘I needed to gather those pieces and bring those back into wholeness. All those pieces I had rejected about myself, learn how to love them and realize that the totality of me is lovable not just the LeAnn Rimes that’s projected into the world.’
She entered a 30-day-treatment and felt a newfound sense of totality afterwards which helped propel her to continue her career while distinguishing that she was so much more than a singer.
‘Everything worked around my voice. It was the way that I lived my life. If that was taken away, I want to know who I am outside of that,’ she said in a 2012 ABC interview.
Despite having some major issues on her own, the decision to enter rehab was due in part to the backlash she received following her 2009 extramarital affair with Eddie Cibrian who was married to Real Housewives Of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville.
Stepping out: Rimes’ anxiety was majorly catapulted by the public shaming that ensued when she and actor Eddie Cibrian had an affair in 2009; pictured with wife at the time Brandi Glanville
‘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,’ she told People.
A scorned Glanville launched a ruthless attack on Rimes after she and Cibrian married in 2011 and accused her of having an eating disorder and an addiction to laxatives while branding her as ‘unstable.’
‘Mason, my eldest, ate some of Le’s candies and got extremely ill. And Le’s candies are laxatives. It was a big f***ing deal for me, and I lost my mind.’
The ladies seem to have found common ground in recent years as both LeAnn and Brandi struggle with psoriasis – of which LeAnn has been very vocal about.
‘I know who I am now. And I try to keep things in perspective. The need for other’s approval has changed big-time. Self-worth is key,’ she said.
Self-worth: Now on the road to recovery after doing work on herself she credits yoga and not vying for the approval of others as the keys to her success; pictured November 2020