Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud's Relationship Timeline Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud first met back in the '90s and got married on New Year’s Day in 2011 By Hollee Actman Becker Hollee Actman Becker Hollee Actman Becker is a former contributor at PEOPLE. She left PEOPLE in 2022. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on July 2, 2024 09:56AM EDT Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty After more than a decade of marriage, Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud are still going strong. The couple began officially dating in 2009 and got engaged in December 2010. Just one month later — on New Year's Day 2011 — Twain and Thiébaud were married in a small sunset ceremony in Rincon, Puerto Rico. The Grammy winner and Swiss businessman famously fell in love after Twain split from her ex-husband, Robert "Mutt" Lange, who allegedly had an affair with Thiébaud's then-wife Marie-Anne — Twain's close friend at the time. "[He] has been the most constant companion and support," Twain said of Thiébauld in 2010. "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." In fact, watching the way Thiébauld dealt with his heartbreak is what made Twain so enamored by him. "I got to observe Fred going through the same thing I was and I admired how he handled it," Twain told Redbook in May 2011. "That is where I fell in love with him because he was so exemplary in every way." Here's everything to know about Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud's relationship. 1990s: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud first meet Central Image Agency/FilmMagic Twain met Thiébaud in Switzerland back in the '90s when the singer and her then-husband Lange hired Thiébaud's wife, Marie-Anne, to assist the family and help take care of their home. "Their two families would vacation and spend holidays together," a source told PEOPLE. "Shania considered Marie-Anne one of her best friends." Spring 2008: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud start spending time together After separating from Lange and finding out he'd allegedly been having an affair with Marie-Anne, Twain turned to Thiébaud for support. "The person to comfort me was Fred because he's been through the exact same thing," Twain told Oprah. "Fred was safe. So it was really a beautiful and perfect friendship." December 12, 2008: Frédéric Thiébaud has a "positive effect" on Shania Twain In December 2008, a friend of Twain's told PEOPLE Thiébaud was having a "positive effect" on the country star. "She's finally doing things she always wanted to do, emotionally freeing things," the friend said. "She's playing tennis four times a week, sky-diving for the first time." August 2009: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud vacation together, sparking engagement rumors George Pimentel/Wireimage The following August, engagement rumors started to swirl after Twain and Thiébaud were spotted wearing rings in Canada while vacationing at the singer's lakefront cottage with her son, Eja, and Thiébaud's daughter, Johanna. "They are not engaged and they are not married," Twain's rep told PEOPLE at the time. August 31, 2009: Shania Twain addresses her relationship with Frédéric Thiébaud A few days later, Twain shared a travel video on her website that documented a skydiving trip in Florida, a camel-riding adventure in Egypt and a bike ride through a London park with Thiébaud, who the Grammy winner called "a dear friend and true gentleman." "Having gone through the suffering of his family splitting apart at the same time and under the same extreme circumstances, he understands me better than anyone," Twain wrote in a letter to fans. February 2010: Shania Twain shares a video shot by Frédéric Thiébaud In February 2010, Twain posted another video on her website. This time, the American Idol judge was shown visiting a Canadian radio station, joking about her junk-food cravings and bantering with Thiébaud, who shot the footage and whose voice can be heard off-camera throughout. December 20, 2010: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud confirm their engagement Jason Merritt/Getty A year after the pair first started spending time together, a source confirmed to PEOPLE that Twain and the Swiss businessman had gotten engaged. "They've been engaged a couple months," the source said. December 21, 2010: Shania Twain pens a tribute to Frédéric Thiébaud The next day, Twain announced the happy news herself. "I am excited to share some personal news with you; I'm in love!" she wrote on her website. "Frederic Nicolas Thiebaud has been a true gift to me as a compassionate, understanding friend and over time, an amazing love has blossomed from this precious friendship. Fred and I are happy to announce, our ENGAGEMENT!" January 1, 2011: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud get married Just one month after getting engaged, Twain and Thiébaud tied the knot in Puerto Rico on New Year's Day. "They were married at sunset in Rincon, Puerto Rico, in front of 40 of their closest family and friends," a rep for the pair told PEOPLE. "After [the officiant] said, 'You can now kiss the bride,' Fred picked her up and kissed her," added one of Twain's bridesmaids. "He was just jumping for joy. It was tearful, beautiful." May 12, 2011: Shania Twain explains how she and Frédéric Thiébaud went from friends to lovers Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic When Twain appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in May 2011, she opened up about her painful past and falling in love with Thiébaud after they'd both been betrayed. "We slowly became very, very good friends," Twain said. "We had many months of just trying to make sense of everything, holding each other up. It was a very difficult time emotionally for both of us." She continued: "I would say he was probably stronger than I was. He was a tremendous support — we were a support to each other — and really found something beautiful in the end and unexpected." May 16, 2011: Shania Twain talks about Frédéric Thiébaud's romantic surprises While promoting her autobiography, From This Moment On, Twain revealed to Redbook that her husband loved to create romantic surprises for her. "The other day I was showering and he had to go out," she said. "He knew I hadn't eaten yet, and I had to go somewhere too. So before he left, he prepared me a salad. I could hear chopping and singing, and I'm thinking, What is he doing? " Twain added: "I came out of the bathroom, and he'd set up a little table with a note saying, 'I love you — Fred.' And there was a glass of wine, and this beautiful salad with little tomatoes and flowers all around the edges. He's very good at doing displays!" May 23, 2011: Frédéric Thiébaud calls his relationship with Shania Twain "a beautiful love story" Speaking of romantic surprises, in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE four months into the couple's marriage, Thiébaud explained how he won over Twain with over-the-top gestures like flying her to a Swiss glacier and renting out a movie theater for dinner. "To express my love, words are not enough," he said. "I'm more in love with her every day. What happened between us really came as a complete surprise. We never, ever expected anything like this. It's just really a beautiful love story." December 2, 2012: Shania Twain says she can't live without Frédéric Thiébaud George Pimentel/WireImage After kicking off her two-year residency in Las Vegas, Twain credited her husband for giving her the courage to perform again after eight years. "I cannot live without him," she said. "I need that support. I just need what we have. It grounds me every day and reminds me that there are a lot of important things going on in the world. He keeps it all in perspective." February 14, 2019: Shania Twain shares a photo with Frédéric Thiébaud on Valentine's Day In celebration of Valentine's Day, Twain honored her husband by posting a picture on Instagram of the two of them decked out in white with their arms lovingly wrapped around each other. "Happy Valentine's Day everyone" she captioned the image. November 21, 2019: Frédéric Thiébaud supports Shania Twain's career on Instagram Three days ahead of Twain's scheduled appearance at the 2019 American Music Awards — the first time the Grammy winner would take the stage in 16 years — Thiébaud shared a photo on Instagram of a billboard in Times Square announcing his wife's performance. "So Excited!❤️," Thiébaud captioned the post. January 30, 2020: Shania Twain says marriage to Frédéric Thiébaud is "beautifully twisted" George Pimentel/WireImage In a January 2020 interview with AARP The Magazine, Twain acknowledged the "soap opera" start of her relationship with Thiébaud, since the couple fell in love after their then-spouses allegedly had an affair with each other. "It's twisted," Twain said. "But so beautifully twisted." February 12, 2020: Shania Twain says she's grateful Frédéric Thiébaud helped her love again While attending the American Heart Association's annual Go Red For Women Red Dress Collection fashion show in February 2020, Twain credited "faith and love" for her enduring marriage. "I'm so grateful I found the faith and courage to love again — because the last thing you want to do when you're crushed is love again," Twain told PEOPLE. "When you have a great loss, you lose faith; you get very discouraged." She continued: "I'm sure a lot of people say, 'I'm never going to love again. I never want to fall in love again.' Songs have been written about that. I'm really glad that that got turned around for me, and that's what this relationship is." March 24, 2020: Shania Twain calls Frédéric Thiébaud her "quarantine partner" While quarantining in March 2020, Twain shared a sweet post on Instagram announcing how happy she was to be stuck at home with her husband. "Lucky that I love spending time with this one ❤️," the country legend wrote next to a picture of herself and Thiébaud. "Tag your quarantine partner at home or online that's keeping you 😁." October 5, 2020: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud walk the red carpet Shania Twain and husband Frédéric Thiébaud. Andreas Rentz/Getty Seven months later, the duo stepped out for a red carpet appearance in Switzerland for the 16th annual Zurich Film Festival. Twain then shared photos from the event on her Instagram, writing the title of one of her songs in the caption: "The Woman in Me (Needs the Man In You) ❤️." Thiébaud then posted his own photo of the pair on Instagram, writing, "With my ❤️❤️❤️❤️ at Zurich Film Festival 🥰😍." March 7, 2022: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud attend a UFC match together In March 2022, the pair stepped out together again, this time for a UFC match. The artist later shared a photo on Instagram of herself and Thiébaud engrossed in the fight, as well as a few snaps of her other friends at the event, including fellow country star Zac Brown. "Night out with my best boys," she captioned the images. May 15, 2022: Shania Twain calls Frédéric Thiébaud her best friend Two months later, the singer shared another picture of herself and Thiébaud on Instagram, one that her husband had previously posted in honor of Valentine's Day. In the image, the pair is smiling and snuggling close together, surrounded by pink balloons. "My best friend 🎈❤️ @fred_thiebaud," Twain wrote in the caption. Thiébaud then responded in the comment section: "❤️❤️❤️Love you❤️❤️❤️❤️." July 26, 2022: Shania Twain's Netflix documentary Not Just a Girl premieres Frédéric Thiébaud Instagram Twain's Netflix documentary, Not Just a Girl, was released on July 26, 2022, and featured all of the singer's ups and downs that led to her legendary country music career. Directed by Joss Crowley, the film discussed her upbringing in Timmins, Ontario, and chronicled her rise to fame — including her marriage and separation with ex-husband Lange as well as her marriage to Thiébaud. The documentary also touched on the vocal cord struggles that she contracted after being diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2003. The couple traveled to Washington, D.C. for the 100th National Tree Lighting Ceremony. Twain, along with Andy Grammer and Gloria Estefan, performed at the annual event. Ahead of her performance, she and Thiébaud were given a tour of the White House, which Twain shared photos of on Instagram. February 27, 2023: Shania Twain speaks about bonding with Frédéric Thiébaud over their partners' infidelity On an episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, Twain reflected on her divorce from Lange and her early relationship with Thiébaud. She explained to host Dax Shepard that the now-couple had no romantic connection before splitting with their spouses. "I did not get close to Fred at all, we didn't have each other's numbers," the country star explained. "He was not really part of our daily lives because he was working these crazy hours." She then spoke about how their partners' cheating helped her and Thiébaud form a bond, saying, "I guess it was a beautiful surprise to then see how gracefully and graciously he was dealing with navigating the same pain." April 2, 2023: Shania Twain and Frédéric Thiébaud attend the CMT Music Awards Twain and Thiébaud attended the CMT Music Awards in Austin, Texas, where Twain accepted the Equal Play Award, which recognizes artists who are advocates for elevating diverse and underrepresented voices in country music. The two were photographed sitting together in the Moody Center, where Twain wore a purple, two-piece crop top and short set while Thiébaud wore a black jacket and white shirt. August 15, 2023: Frédéric Thiébaud celebrates Shania Twain's third Vegas residency show, Come on Over During a break from her Queen of Me World Tour, Twain announced that she'll be returning to Las Vegas for her third residency show called Come on Over. Speaking with PEOPLE, the country star revealed that performances will be brought to the next level with her clothing choices.“I'm going to be playing around with the fashion more in the Come on Over residency because… I’ve really discovered the joy of creating my styling myself,” she said. Thiébaud expressed his excitement about Twain's upcoming run, set to start in May 2024, on Instagram. "🔥So happy my beautiful wife ❤️@shaniatwain❤️ is going back to Vegas. It’s gonna be a crazy party with all@of her hits songs!" he captioned the residency poster. June 30, 2024: Frédéric Thiébaud praises Shania Twain's Glastonbury performance Twain performed at the 2024 Glastonbury Festival in England. Following her electric set, Thiébaud praised his wife on Instagram, writing, "EXTREMELY PROUD of this amazing woman. You are the absolute BEST!!!!!"