LeAnn Rimes recalls intense backlash she faced for Eddie Cibrian affair: ‘I was a target’

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian’s infamous affair came with major fallout.

The “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” singer, 42, looked back on “all of the craziness” that she and Cibrian, 52, dealt with when they cheated on their respective former spouses over 15 years ago.

“I realized very quickly that there are a lot of women who’ve been hurt,” Rimes said in a new interview with Flow Space. “Like, I’ve been on both sides of that coin — I’ve been cheated on, too, so I know that feeling.”

LeAnn Rimes and Eddie Cibrian at MusiCares Person of the Year in 2020.Getty Images for The Recording Academy

Rimes on the cover of Flow Space.Flow Space

“But so many women don’t know what to do with that anger,” Rimes continued. “I was a target that was just easily projected upon. And once I realized that, things got a lot easier.”
Rimes and Cibrian started their affair in 2008 while they were filming the Lifetime movie “Northern Lights.”

At the time, Rimes was married to actor Dean Sheremet, while Cibrian was married to “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” alum Brandi Glanville.

Rimes explained in the interview that over time, she learned how to handle the backlash to her and Cibrian’s relationship.

Rimes’ photo shoot with Flow Space.Daniel Doperalski

Rimes rocks a red strapless dress for her photo shoot with Flow Space.Daniel Doperalski
“Instead of taking it so personally, it’s like, look: This is not all my pain to carry. I know what I’m responsible for in the situation and making amends for that,” she said.

“But you know, the world’s pain is not mine to carry,” the “Masked Singer” winner added, “and I think that really got thrown at me for a long time.”

Rimes – who married Cibrian in 2011 and became a stepmom to his and Glanville’s sons Mason, 22, and Jake, 18 — also recognized how much she’s changed since the scandal.

Cibrian and Rimes in a selfie.leannrimes/Instagram

Rimes and her ex, Dean Sheremet, at the “Spider-Man” premiere in 2002.Getty Images
“I think I’ve gone from survival to thriving to — if there is a level up from thriving — to truly living,” she said. “I think that’s where I’m headed.”

Cibrian initially denied that he and Rimes had an affair in 2009. Later that year, the “CSI: Miami” actor and Rimes split from their respective spouses and went public as a couple.

In 2010, Rimes told People that her affair was “one of the most selfish things that I could possibly do, in hurting someone else.”

Rimes with Cibrian and his sons Jake and Mason at the “Lion King” premiere in 2019.Getty Images for Disney

Rimes and Cibrianleannrimes/Instagram

Brandi Glanville and her ex, Cibrian, in 2006.Getty Images
“I take responsibility for everything I’ve done. I hate that people got hurt, but I don’t regret the outcome,” the “Blue” singer added.

Glanville, for her part, was furious over her husband’s affair and even once threatened to “murder” Rimes.

“One time, before they were married, I walked up to a soccer game and Jake, who was 2, was sitting in her lap,” Glanville wrote in a 2021 op-ed for the Sun. “I had this rage in my body. I really wanted to kill her.

“I walked over to her, grabbed Jake and I looked at her and said: “I will f–king murder you,” the Bravo alum continued, adding that she “was so mad at Eddie for blowing up our life together.”

However, Glanville has made amends with her ex-husband and his wife. She’s even spent holidays with the couple over the years.