Country-pop superstar Shania Twain will be making her way back to the limelight after many years away in a new reality TV series called Why Not? with Shania Twain that will debut on OWN, the Oprah Winfrey Network. Apparently, this new series will be a way for Shania to re-introduce herself to the public after many years out of the spotlight (and maybe as a way to introduce the new man in her life to the world) … tho it is unclear if there will be a musical component to the show. Here are the deets that we do know about Why Not? with Shania Twain:

First came heartbreak, then a second chance at love. Next up for country superstar Shania Twain? Her own TV series. Twain, 44, will star on Why Not? With Shania Twain, an hour-long series premiering on OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network. “The show will follow [Twain] as she begins her climb back to the top, a personal journey filled with risk, revelations and unexpected adventures,” says a statement from the network. This won’t be Twain’s first foray in front of the camera since her marriage to Robert “Mutt” Lange fell apart in May 2008 over his relationship with her then-friend – and employee – Marie-Anne Thiébaud. The country singer has posted several personal videos on her Web site in recent months, chronicling her world travels, fun times with her son Eja, 8, and her blossoming romance with her boyfriend Frédéric, who is Thiébaud’s ex-husband. In February, Twain, who has recently been spotted in New York, posted a video – shot in Canada by Thiébaud – in which she visits a radio station, jokes about her junk-food cravings and the effect of the cold weather on her skin, and banters with her Swiss-born beau, whose French-inflected voice can be heard throughout. Last August, she posted a video travelogue documenting a skydiving trip in Florida, a camel-riding adventure in Egypt and a bike ride through a London park with Thiébaud, whom in an accompanying letter she called her “most constant companion.”

HMMM … I really hope this new show doesn’t feel like Wife Swap but, er, you know … but with Husbands. It’s still kinda weird to me that Shania decided to hook up with the ex-husband of the woman who her husband cheated with — especially since that woman was formerly her BFF. Maybe because the notion of the partner swap is so strange that this show is an attempt to make what went down seem more normal? Whatever the case may be, I can see how a show like this may appeal to viewers. I was a big Shania Twain fan back in the day but I’m not sure I really care anymore. I’ll prolly take a pass on this new TV show and wait for her to release new music. What do y’all think … is this something you’d want to watch? Does it even sound remotely interesting?

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Country-pop singer Shania Twain became a part of Olympic History last night as she was honored with the task of being torch-bearer for the Olympic Flame as it made its way thru her hometown of Timmins, Ontario on its way to Vancouver, British Columbia where the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will commence next month. Here are a couple photos of Shania‘s Olympic moment and some deets about her run:

Despite Friday night’s bitterly cold, windy weather, Shania Twain carried the Olympic torch through her Canadian hometown of Timmins, Ontario, and into a celebration at a city park. Enduring the minus-30-degree wind-chill factor, more than 1,000 fans cheered and screamed as the five-time Grammy winner, 44, ran onto a makeshift stage wearing a white torchbearer’s uniform. After stopping for a quick photo op, Twain jumped up and down, smiled, waved and lit a ceremonial cauldron to kick off a show. “There is a lot of excitement surrounding the voyage of the Olympic flame as it makes its way through our beautiful country,” the Canadian-born Twain said before the chilly spectacle. “I am proud to be a small part of the flame’s journey to its final destination at the games in Vancouver” – where the Olympics will commence Feb. 12. “I will never forget this honor and cherish the privilege,” she said.

Another round of Olympic Games is nearly upon us. Just 2 years ago, we watched as Beijing, China played host to the 2008 Olympic Summer Games (and we watched as US Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps broke all sorts of Olympic Records) and now it’s time again to prepare the way for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. Geeze, where does the time go? In any event, it’s really cool that Shania got to be a part of this ancient Olympic tradition. It is an honor that is not shared by many. As the flame makes its way to Vancouver, BC it’ll go thru some rough and COLD Canadian terrain … here’s hoping it’ll burn brightly along the way.

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In May of 2008 we learned that Shania Twain and her hubby Mutt Lange decided to end their marriage reportedly due to infidelity on Lange‘s part … and altho we learned in December ’08 that Shania may have found the romantic company of a new man (in an old friend), she has remained relatively silent on her personal and professional life all the while — until now. Shania just posted a new message to fans on her official record label website and explains (in great detail) why she has not been releasing any new music lately and opens up a bit about how her personal struggles have been affecting her and her son. Here is the full text of Shania‘s new and very long letter to fans:

Dear Friends,

I am so excited to be writing to you personally again after so long.

First I want to apologize for the delay in releasing new music. Music is the basis of our relationship, after all, and I realize I’m not holding up very well on my end of the relationship! But music has a mind of it’s own, and is ruled by a writer’s emotions and state of mind, not by a time frame or wishful thinking. I wish like crazy that I had new music by now since I dream of how fun it would be to see you all again out on tour with new songs to sing, but as most of you know, I have been side-tracked slightly over this past year.

The personal issues that took place just over a year ago have been well documented, and there’s no need to go into more detail here. Since then, I’ve been inspired by my pain to write and use writing as a therapy through the suffering. I truly wouldn’t wish this on anybody as a means to get inspired, but it’s been a productive period with so much emotion trying to find it’s way out. However, there is no telling how long it will take me to actually finish these songs and record them so they can get out to you.

As many things as there have been to write about through this difficult time in my life, healing is serious business and has taken a lot of the wind out of my sails, slowing me down at times. As you know, I am a mom and all my energy goes to making sure my little man is healthy and happy in every way. This is a full time job, as any parent understands, but especially difficult when you are battling your own personal crisis at the same time while trying to spare your child of being affected by your own suffering.

One time when I was having a weak moment listening to some sad music and sobbing and slobbering over my computer’s keyboard, Eja walked up behind me and asked me why I was crying. He wasn’t sad at first–just totally surprised to see his mom crying (he is seven and never saw me cry before), and didn’t know what to make of it. During this intense period, I was managing to hide my devastation from Eja and cried only when I was alone; but this one time was just too hard for me to control and I broke down. I was quick on my feet to answer him though and told Eja that music was very powerful and can make people quite emotional. It can make you want to dance, feel angry, happy or sad and that THIS this song was sad and made me cry. He accepted this, hugged me and went back to what he was doing. Phew, that was tough!

The energy it has taken me to deal with my personal life and managing to still be a responsible parent has been challenging, and while I have been putting what energy I have left at the end of each day into my writing, it’s been hard to put it all together into song format.

Wow … considering that Shania has never really opened up about personal matters in the past, this fairly brutally honest treatise is quite a read. I am a huge Shania Twain fan and it pains me to hear that her break-up has been so difficult for her and her young son. Shania does talk about the new music that she has been working on in the second half of her letter. After the jump, read the rest of Shania‘s message to fans …

One-time Country-Pop Music superstar Shania Twain has been keeping a very low-profile in recent years and even more so after it was announced back in May that she and her husband of 14 years Robert Mutt Lange were divorcing. At the time, we heard that the split came about because Mutt was sniffin’ around Shania‘s family friend Marie-Anne Thiébaud (who was also the Twain-Lange family’s private secretary and house manager of their home in Switzerland) a bit too much and reportedly started having an affair with her. Shania has only made one public appearance since news of her break-up came to light (at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, TN last month) … until now. Here are new pics of Shania arriving at JFK Airport in NYC with a mysterious gentleman following close behind her … and then was seen near her outside of the airport … and then was seen IN HER CAR as she drove away from the airpot. HMMM. Just who is this mysterious man?

Shania Twain smiled radiantly after touching down at New York’s JFK Airport on Thursday following a flight from Switzerland. Perhaps her pearly-white grin was a result of her hunky traveling companion? Sources tell Star that — get this — the fella is the husband of the woman who allegedly had an affair with Shania’s husband. If you remember, when Shania and her music producer hubby, Robert “Mutt” Lange, announced the end of their marriage, it was alleged that they split because he was having an affair with Marie-Anne Thiébaud, who was the longtime secretary and house manager at Shania and Mutt’s Switzerland estate. Marie-Anne and her businessman husband, triathlete Frédéric Thiebaud, were close friends and often their two families would vacation and spend holidays together.

Interesting. I’m not sure that I would necessary go for the ex-hubby of the person who cheated with my husband but the guy was there are the right time to commiserate with dear Shania in her time of woe. It really feels like an overly complicated situation to me … because Shania and Mutt share a child (and, presumably, Marie-Anne and Frédéric do as well) these couples are going to be forever connected to one another. I suppose it’s possible that once tempers cool down and everyone moves forward the families can mebbe once again be friends again? Yeah, it’s weird. Altho Shania is well aware of whose bed Freddy‘s boots have been under, she would prolly be better served if she moved on with a brand new man who is totally uninvolved with any of this drama … and we would be better served if she would get her butt back in the studio and release a new album of music! Mebbe now that she’s happy again she can do just that. What do y’all think? Does this new romantic sitch for Shania Twain sound like a good one to y’all?

[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]