The Real Reason You Don't Hear About LeAnn Rimes Anymore
At age 14, LeAnn Rimes became the youngest person to win a Grammy Award in 1997. The incredible achievement put her music career on the fast track and she quickly became one of the most popular country singers of all time. Considering her early fame, one would think Rimes' star power would linger for years, but that wasn't the case. What happened to Rimes once bustling career and high-profile lifestyle? Let's find out.
She's the target of housewife hate
Love triangles are complicated, to say the least, but they're especially troublesome when they play out in the public eye.
Case in point: Rimes and actor Eddie Cibrian met as co-stars on the 2009 TV movie Northern Lights, and a real-life romance reportedly bloomed while they were both married to other people. Cibrian's other half, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Brandi Glanville, didn't take the affair very well, and it's fair to say that she's struggling with the situation to this day.
In October 2017, Glanville dressed up as Rimes for a Halloween party with the theme "Celebrity Scandalous Couples," according to Us Weekly, and in June 2017, she accused Rimes of creeping on her and her boyfriend at a sushi restaurant in Malibu. "Stalking my boyfriend to show up with my kids was the last straw," Glanville tweeted in reference to the alleged incident.
As for Rimes, she's been keeping quiet through it all, though Cibrian occasionally speaks up in her defense. It's reasonable to assume that Rimes is keeping a low-profile to avoid the wrath of Glanville, especially for the sake of her two stepsons. As they say, silence is golden.
Her divorce was ugly
It's no secret that Rimes' 2009 divorce from her husband of seven years, backup dancer-turned-chef Dean Sheremet, was explosive. He was supposedly blindsided by Rimes' affair with Cibrian and was very vocal about the troubling split and how he discovered that something was amiss in his marriage while Northern Lights was filming.
"There was this bar that everyone hung out at after set and I remember coming down the stairs and seeing [Rimes and Cibrian] shooting pool together," Sheremet told Nat's Next Adventure. "I could just tell by the body language that everything had changed..."
Not only was Sheremet's searing honesty embarrassing for Rimes, but it also earned her negative attention from both the press and her fans. That's not lost on Sheremet. "The last hit song she had was when she was with me," he said.
Considering Rimes' affair took such a toll on her life professionally and personally, it's no shock that she retreated from the spotlight, or perhaps the spotlight dodged her.
She's focused on her marriage
Since Rimes and Cibrian got hitched in April 2011, the two have been inseparable. Instead of focusing on her once high-profile country music career, Rimes has shifted her focus to being the best wife and partner she can be.
"We respect each other; respect is a big deal, and once you lose that, you've kind of lost everything," she told People. "He's a wonderful father and a really good man. He's kind to me, and I reciprocate."
To make matters even more aww-worthy, Rimes reportedly keeps the spark alive with Cibrian by planning romantic vacations to gorgeous locations across the globe. In January 2018, the couple enjoyed a sun-soaked private getaway in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico (via Just Jared).
For now, it looks like Rimes is content to sideline her career and just enjoy her little love cocoon with Cibrian.
Her reality show was a dud
When you're a very successful person, any little bit of failure can cut deep, so when Rimes' VH1 reality show with Cibrian, LeAnn & Eddie, was cancelled in June 2015 after just one season, it's safe to say the news hit her hard.
What made the professional low-point even more difficult was that the show was intended to rehab the couple's post-affair image. "We had this idea of poking fun at almost everything ... it's time to laugh about it," Rimes said (via Hollywood Life. "The situation is not laughable, but at the same time, everything that has been written about the situation is hysterical."
Alas, audiences did not find the show hysterical at all. The premiere, according to Deadline, was seen by a mere 374,000 viewers — a minuscule number in the realm of reality TV. Rimes has not appeared in a major television project or high-profile venture since.
She's dedicated to her stepsons
There's no denying that Rimes deeply cares for her two stepsons, Jake and Mason. She has spoken out about her new role as a stepmom and how she takes that job very seriously.
"It's been really rewarding to see them grow up, and know that I have a part in that," Rimes told Refinery29. "That responsibility, to help raise kids, it's something that hits you really hard. It was something I was up for the challenge of. They bring so much joy to my life, and it's a new experience every day."
In April 2017, Rimes wrote a touching wedding anniversary tribute to Cibrian in which she described herself as Jake and Mason's "co-soul protector."
Obviously, this blended family takes up a lot of Rimes' time, so if you don't see her out and about in Tinseltown, it's probably because she's at home logging quality time with the boys.
Is she battling financial woes?
When a celeb goes dark, financial problem might be to blame. It's kind of difficult to hang out in Hollywood hot spots when you're broke, right?
Rimes and Cibrian might be in the midst of some money problems. In July 2015, OK! Magazine obtained legal docs that claimed the couple failed to repay a $300,000 loan to a close friend. To make matters even more embarrassing, Rimes and Cibrian allegedly used the borrowed cash for the down payment on their luxurious Hidden Hills, Calif. home. Per the court docs, it seems like Rimes and Cibrian have been living above their means for a while.
Some say the couple's financial situation is the only reason they're still together. "With LeAnn's career in trouble and Eddie's nonexistent, they probably can't afford divorce, though it's likely where there'll end up soon enough," a source told OK! Magazine (via Hollywood Gossip).
If the rumors about financial ruin are true, it's not surprising that Rimes is keeping a very low profile while she gets her accounts squared away.
She's planning for a family...or at least practicing
Throughout the years, Rimes has teased fans about having a baby of her own with Cibrian, and she's reportedly put other projects on the back burner to focus on expanding her brood.
Cibrian confirmed Rimes' baby fever, telling Extra: "She wants a little girl, badly."
Obviously, making a baby can be a very time consuming and all-encompassing effort, and it doesn't happen easily for everyone. During an August 2016 appearance on ITV1's Loose Women, Rimes said she and the hubs "practice a lot."
Whether they're practicing or trying or nesting or none of the above is really none of our business, but it could certainly explain Rimes' Hollywood hiatus. Regardless, we're certain she'd make a great mama to a son or daughter of her own.
She checked her ego at the door
In February 2017, Rimes gave an emotional interview about what she has "let go" of in life to achieve a sense of inner-peace and well-being.
"Well, my ego. That is something I've gratefully let go of," she told Billboard. "I started in the industry so young. I look back and I don't even know how I am alive at this moment. That is probably the biggest feat in my life: surviving..."
If Rimes has truly let go of her ego, it makes sense that she's reduced her role in the limelight. If you don't have an ego to feed, you don't need to court fame. Long gone are Rimes' days of selling out arenas and touring around the world. She says her new perspective has helped her artistically.
"Once it wasn't about my ego anymore, I became human," she said. "To be able to create from that place is incredible." How zen.
Her music career is not what it once was
Rimes released her 16th studio album, Remnants, in February 2017. "It's a healing record," she told told Rolling Stone Country. "That's really what I hope people get out of it, is some sense of healing. I'm not attacking anything; it's from a settled point of view. And, yes, it is vulnerable. I'm scared to death."
No doubt the project touched some listeners, but by the numbers, it did not measure up to her past releases, and neither did its promotional tour. At the time of this writing, Rimes has ceased promoting new music, so it's reasonable to assume she's swept up the remnants of her music career and packed them away for a bit.
She's busy with her blog
Launching a blog can be a big undertaking, especially when you put your soul and heart into it, and that's a lesson Rimes learned when she launched her website, Soul Of EverLe, in May 2017.
According to a statement on the site, Soul of EverLe aims to "awaken and heal the spirit through connection, community, joy and Love." That's a lofty ambition.
"It's a lot of work, I didn't realize how much work a blog is," Rimes told Refinery29. "But it's so fun to be creative in a totally different way."
If you're wondering why Rimes isn't attending celeb-studded parties and other high-profile events, maybe that's because she's at home toiling away at her keyboard.