Shania Twain: Tells fans she's moved on, after split

Shania Twain: Tells fans she's moved on, after split

Canadian country pop singer Shania Twain is slowly returning back into the spotlight after her marriage broke up last year.

After 14 years of their marriage, Shania Twain separated from her husband, music producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, in May 2008.

Twain has been keeping herself separate from others, apart from a brief appearance at the Country Music Association awards last November.

But this week, the 44 year old Twain will be a guest judge on "American Idol" during the Chicago auditions. She has reached out to fans by posting a personal letter and a special video on her Web site.

In the letter addressed to fans, Twain wrote that she spent the past year traveling, reading, sharing time with her son 8-year-old Eja, and "concentrating on moving on and forward".

Twain said she has noticed that she is now surrounded by loving people whom she could trust. She referred particularly to a man, Frederic Thiebaud, as "Fred" and calls him "a dear friend and true gentleman" who is helping her and her son to adjust to a new life.

Twain said that "Fred" has also gone through the suffering of his family splitting apart at the same time and under the same extreme circumstances, he understands her pain better than anyone.

Twain wrote, "We leaned on one another through the ups and downs, taking turns holding each other up. We've become stronger and closer through it all, as have our children Eja and Johanna,Fred's 8-year-old daughter.

But, there's no word on when she might come out with new music.

Grammy award-winning American country music singer Reba McEntire said, "The country music industry is ready for Shania Twain to come back, definitely".