LeAnn Rimes Seeks Treatment for Anxiety
Country singer LeAnn Rimes has checked into a treatment center, seeking emotional help.
"LeAnn has voluntarily entered a 30-day in-patient treatment facility to cope with anxiety and stress," her rep, Marcel Pariseau, told People exclusively. "While there will be speculation regarding her treatment, she is simply there to learn and develop coping mechanisms. While privacy isn't expected, it's certainly appreciated."
Pariseau did not respond immediately to a request for comment from ABC News.
The singer's rep told People that Rimes was not seeking treatment for an eating disorder or substance abuse. In the past, Rimes, who is often photographed in a bikini, has combated claims that she was anorexic.
The "Blue" singer checked into the facility Wednesday, the day after her 30th birthday, and spoke candidly with People about seeking treatment.
"This is just a time for me to emotionally check out for a second and take care of myself and come back in 30 days as the best 30-year-old woman I can be," she told the magazine.
"All the things in my life will be there when I get out, but you know what? I'm hoping they're not going to affect me as much," she said. "I'll have the tools to know how to deal with them."
Rimes's husband, actor Eddie Cibrian, 39, also expressed his support.
"My wife is the most remarkable and courageous woman I know," Cibrian told People. "I am so proud of her for having the strength to finally take some time for herself. I will be with her every step of the way."
Before marrying Cibrian last year, Rimes talked openly about "mistakes" she'd made, including breaking up two marriages to be with Cibrian.
"I know I didn't do it the right way," Rimes said in "Backstory: LeAnn Rimes," a 90-minute special that aired on the Great American Country cable network. "I didn't have the tools to know how to do it the right way, how to let go the right way. I'd never been taught that."
Rimes burst on the music scene in the mid-'90s. By 14, she had already made music history, becoming not only the youngest artist to be nominated for an Academy of Country Music award but also the first country singer to win a Grammy for Best New Artist, in 1996.
But a nonstop schedule of shows and recording dates gradually wore her down, she told "GMA" co-host Robin Roberts in 2010. Rimes developed psoriasis, a severe skin disorder, over much of her body that would take years to control.
In her book, "What I Cannot Change," Rimes wrote about days she did not want to perform for anyone but said when she wasn't doing a show, she didn't know what do with herself. When "GMA" co-host Robin Roberts asked her who she was without music, Rimes broke down in tears.
"That was my life!" she said, crying. "I'm learning who I am without it and that's the coolest thing about my life right now that I have all of these incredible things happening and I have family and - and I'm learning who I am without it."
