LeAnn Rimes on Being a Stepmother: ‘It’s a New Experience Every Day’
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, but LeAnn Rimes doesn’t want people to forget Stepmom’s Day. Yes, this is an actual holiday celebrated the Sunday after Mother’s Day.
The country singer is married to Eddie Cibrian and her modern family includes his two children, Mason, 13, and Jake, 10, whom he shares with ex-wife Brandi Glanville. After a (very) rocky start, the trio seems to have figured out the co-parenting thing, but Rimes admits stepping into the role of stepmother wasn’t easy.
“When I was first around the kids, I didn’t know what was expected of me,” she tells Refinery29. “Little things that were so childlike about them that I didn’t have about me. It’s been a really big learning experience for me. It’s pushed my buttons, which has always made me look and see where I need more healing on myself. It’s been really rewarding to see them grow up, and know that I have a part in that. 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.”
Rimes, 34, and Cibrian, 43, wed in 2011. They met while filming the 2009 film Northern Lights, but they were both married to other people at the time.
“I think parenting is challenging, period,” Rimes adds. “I didn’t really have a childhood, so for me it’s interesting to be around kids that get to be kids. They were 2 and 6 when I was first around them, and now they are 10 and 13. To be around them, and to watch them have a childhood, it’s been amazing to see. I greatly appreciate the fact that they have that piece of their lives, and we try to keep that part of their lives alive as much as possible.”
They’ve also tried to keep the peace with Glanville as much as possible. Last year, the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star called a truce with LeAnn and Eddie, even acknowledging their wedding anniversary.
@BrandiGlanville Thank you! Happy that we always pick up where the other leaves off. Xoxo
— LeAnn Rimes Cibrian (@leannrimes) April 23, 2016
The boys spend Mother’s Day with Glanville, 44, but apparently Cibrian still tries to make that day special for Rimes as well.
“It changed a little bit every year since I’ve been married. The kids spend Mother’s Day with their mom, so Eddie takes me out. He tries to make the day special for me, which is very sweet,” Rimes says. “Then we go and spend the day with our moms and my stepdad and his dad, and it becomes a family-oriented day of celebrating our parents, as we’re both only children.”
The family has made Stepmom’s Day a tradition for a couple of years now.
“We go to dinner and do the whole thing. … It’s so different for each family. I love that we have a separate day, and I think it’s important that people know about it,” she explains. “For me, we have the kids half the time, so I feel like I am mothering, which is crazy as someone who has never had [biological] children before. I think it’s great.”
Two weekends of celebrations? Sounds good to us.
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