Country music star LeAnn Rimes spoke about the state of her health in a new interview published months after her teeth fell out mid-concert.
Rimes, 43, recounted the incident on TikTok in June, telling fans she has “had a lot of dental surgeries, and I have a bridge in the front” that “fell out” while she was singing her 1996 hit “One Way Ticket (Because I Can).”
Speaking to Us Weekly for a new cover story, Rimes was asked about going public with her health struggles, which have included anxiety, depression and psoriasis.
“I remember when I posted the picture of me with psoriasis all over me [in 2020], and it was such a moment of relief because I had been hiding that for so long,” she recalled. “The same with my mental health and now with perimenopause. Every time I talk about it, I set myself — and someone else — free.”
Also called the menopausal transition, perimenopause is when the body “makes the natural transition to menopause, marking the end of the reproductive years,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Women often experience perimenopause by their mid-forties, with symptoms including irregular periods, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, mood changes, fluctuations in cholesterol levels, and changes in sexual function.
“I feel great. My physical health has been something I’ve focused on the past few years, and preparing my body for the changes it’s going through. I feel good even though I have my hormonally challenged days. Going through perimenopause is no joke. But for the most part, I feel really good in my body,” Rimes added to Us Weekly.
Asked what the toughest part about perimenopause was, Rimes responded: “There’s grief that comes along with it that no one talks about. Perimenopause is not just about not making eggs anymore. That’s a biological piece of us changing. It’s such a deepening of the soul and allowing pieces of us that no longer serve us to fall away. It is such a transformational and beautiful part of life if we know what’s going on with our bodies.”
The singer was performing at the Skagit Valley Casino & Resort in Bow, Washington, when the unfortunate incident with her teeth occurred mid-performance.
She said that throughout the rest of the concert, she kept having to push her teeth back in place.
“Like every couple of lines, and singing, which by the way, I never knew how many ‘Fs’ and ‘Ths’ and ‘Shs’ that I have in my songs, especially ‘Can’t Fight the Moonlight,’” she said, laughing. “In ‘Can’t Fight the Moonlight,’ they like completely fell out again in my mouth.”
Deeming it the “most epic experience ever,” she added: “I usually don’t have firsts in my career. That was a first, and hopefully a last. I hope my teeth stay in tonight. We shall see.”
Rimes rose to fame at just 13 with the release of Blue, her 1996 debut major-label album. She has gone on to sell more than 48 million records worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.
“No one can prepare you for fame, especially the way that I skyrocketed to success at such a young age,” she told The Independent in 2022. “I was never prepared for that.”
