Shania Twain Confesses Why She Couldn’t Sing “You’re Still the One” After Her Divorce
It’s one of the most iconic love songs of all time. Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” didn’t just dominate radio back in 1997—it became the soundtrack of weddings, anniversaries, and every couple who wanted to prove the world wrong. But behind the glitter and Grammys, there’s a heartbreaking truth: for years, Shania herself couldn’t even bear to sing it.
A Love Song Born in Defiance
When Shania and her then-husband, producer Robert John “Mutt” Lange, co-wrote the ballad, it was meant to silence critics. The world doubted their marriage, but “You’re Still the One” was their anthem, their “we told you so.” Every time Shania performed it, she wasn’t just singing to millions of fans—she was singing directly to him.
And then the unthinkable happened.
The Betrayal That Changed Everything
In 2008, Shania’s fairytale shattered when Lange had an affair with her best friend and personal assistant, Marie-Anne Thiébaud. The scandal rocked country music and ended a 14-year marriage in one of the genre’s most brutal public splits.
Suddenly, the song that had symbolized eternal devotion was nothing but a cruel reminder of betrayal.
“I’ve gone through quite a few stages with that song,” Shania admitted in an interview with Etalk, later shared by Whiskey Riff. “There was a while when I just didn’t want to sing it live at all. I’d think, well, I’m divorced now, so does it even mean what it used to mean when I wrote it?”
From Anthem to Wound
Picture it: an arena packed with fans waiting for the song, while all Shania could see in her mind was the man who cheated with her closest friend. Every lyric cut like glass. For a while, she couldn’t get through the chorus without choking back tears.
It wasn’t just music anymore. It was a scar that wouldn’t heal.
Reclaiming the Song for the Fans
But Shania Twain has never been one to stay broken. Over time, she found a way to reclaim “You’re Still the One”—not for Mutt, not even for herself, but for the people who built their own lives around it.
“Fans love it, they want to hear it,” she explained. “It means so much to them in so many ways. They’re either getting married to it, or celebrating an anniversary, or they just connect with it in their own lives. It’s the meaning it has for everybody else that makes it so special to me again.”
That’s the strange beauty of country music: once it leaves the pen, the song no longer belongs to the writer. It belongs to the people.
The Ironic Twist
Here’s the irony no one can ignore: the world’s most famous wedding ballad was written by a couple that didn’t make it. The man who co-wrote it is long gone, but the song itself is bigger than ever. Shania still fills arenas, still sings it, and still proves she’s the one who kept standing.
For Mutt Lange, it must sting. For Shania Twain, it’s country justice.
A Song Reborn in Strength
Today, when Shania sings “You’re Still the One”, it’s no longer a promise to a man who betrayed her. It’s a love letter to the fans who stood by her, to the resilience that carried her through heartbreak, and to the woman who came out the other side stronger than ever.
The vows may have been broken—but the song lives on. And so does Shania.
