Who was Jerry Twain? Shania Twain reveals she would ‘flatten her boobs' to avoid stepfather’s abuse
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: Popular country singer Shania Twain opens up about her childhood nightmare. The 57-year-old revealed that she used to flatten her boobs as a teen to avoid allegedly being sexually abused by her stepfather, Jerry Twain. She added that her stepfather would allegedly physically and emotionally abuse her while she lived in the house, reports The Sunday Times.
“I hid myself and I would flatten my boobs. I would wear bras that were too small for me, and I’d wear two, play it down until there was nothing girl about me,” said the 'Man! I Feel Like A Woman!' singer, as per The Post. “Make it easier to go unnoticed. Because, oh my gosh, it was terrible — you didn’t want to be a girl in my house,” added the best-selling female artist of country music.
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Who was Jerry Twain?
Born as Eilleen Regina Edwards, Shania was the second oldest of three girls. After 'You’re Still the One' singer's parents divorced, Shania's mother, Sharon, remarried a man named Jerry Twain. The stepfather reportedly adopted the girls and further on Sharon and Jerry have their own son, Mark. Jerry also adopted his orphaned baby nephew, Darryl. The singer's family was not so well settled and her stepfather was allegedly violent. At times, the abuse was allegedly verbal, with Jerry shouting "vulgarities" at the family, as per The Sunday Times.
In a 2011 autobiography 'From this Moment', Shania details her hardships and says she had to physically step between her parents because she would fear her stepfather might kill her mother. Recalling a violent incident in which Jerry had beaten Sharon unconscious and continued to repeatedly plunge her head into the toilet. By the time she was 11, Shania had begun fighting back. "I ran up behind my dad with a chair in both hands and smashed it across his back," she wrote. "Before I could get away, he punched me in the jaw. Adrenaline pumping, I punched him back!"
By the age of 12 the 'Forever And For Always' singer had already started providing for her family by performing on TV, in Clubs, and at community events. Shania's parents died in a tragic car accident when she was 22 years old, still an aspiring songwriter, leaving her to support her younger siblings. "At that point in my life, I would have rather gone with them," Shania said, referring to her parents. "It was like, 'This is way too much to handle,'" reported Country Living.