Shania Twain Shares Details on Growing Up in a 'Very Violent' Home, Says Her Parents 'Fought a Lot'

Shania Twain looked back on her difficult childhood and revealed that she grew up in a "very violent" home.

During the July 30 episode of NPR's "Wild Card with Rachel Martin," the country star spoke about the abuse she witnessed growing up in Ontario, Canada.

"They loved each other. They went through so many ups and downs together, but they fought a lot, and they got violent often," Shania said of her mother, Sharon Twain, and stepfather, Jerry Twain.

When host Rachel Martin asked whether the violence also affected Shania and her sisters, Jill and Carrie Ann, the singer said, "Yeah, with me too."

She added, "If I was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time, definitely. I mean, both my parents were pretty harsh physically. We definitely got smacked around a lot, and kicked around sometimes, literally kicked around."

The Grammy winner recalled seeing her parents try to hurt each other the most.

"It was very violent. So my mom, you know, she would lose clumps of hair. She was bruised often in the face and … it was pretty bad sometimes. I mean, our house would shake. Those walls would shake," Shania said.

She added, "It’s very traumatic. It gets loud and scary, like a really bad thunderstorm."

Shania also explained that her mother repeatedly tried to escape the relationship, but the separations never lasted

"My mother did often try to leave. She did leave — we did leave — but he'd always find us, or she'd always give in and go back," Shania shared.

She added, "It was a cycle."

Sharon and Jerry died in a head-on car crash near Wawa, Ontario, on November 1, 1987, when Shania was 22 years old and beginning her music career.

Alongside discussing her childhood, Shania shared a more positive update about her personal life in an interview with People.

She revealed that open communication had helped her 15-year marriage to Frédéric Thiébaud remain strong, even when they faced disagreements.

She said, "Fred wants to talk about it. He wants to talk it through, and he wants to fix it. And that's the best advice. I mean, he's not wrong."

Shania also admitted that Frédéric's willingness to explore his feelings had strengthened their relationship over the years.

"He's really good at reminding both of us that we have to keep communication open," Shania said.

She added, "He's the greatest talker, and he's not inhibited at all with expressing his feelings, which is really wonderful in a man."

The singer had previously written about her childhood in her 2011 memoir, From This Moment On. In the book, she alleged that Jerry physically and emotionally abused her for years and described witnessing him assault her mother.

Shania also recalled one incident in which she struck him with a chair while trying to protect Sharon before he punched her in the jaw.

"I feel the sexual abuse goes hand in hand with the physical and psychological abuse when it's somebody you know. I learned to block it out," Shania said in a 2018 interview with The Guardian.