June 1, 2008
Shania comes on over to Muskoka*
Flees to family after split with producer hubbie
By JASON BUCKLAND, SUN MEDIA
http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2008/06/01/5738241-sun.html
Apparently by Up! Up! Up!, Shania Twain meant Muskoka.
After a much-publicized May split from her husband of 14 years, super-producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the Canadian country star took a trip to the cottage paradise to be with family.
"She left (Friday)," confirmed Julia, a worker at the Muskoka
* Airport who did not give her last name.
While the details surrounding the breakup are vague -- and what is known about her personal life even blurrier -- it's a sure thing that Twain doesn't usually make casual public appearances.
The 42-year-old from Timmons has been living in a castle in Switzerland with her 59-year-old ex, the man who brought us hits by AC/DC, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams.
The two have a son, 6-year-old Eja, together.
She is also rumoured now to be a vegetarian and devotee of Sant Mat, a strain of Sikh mysticism that advocates abstinence from sex and alcohol, hours of daily meditation and rigorous journal- keeping.
And while none of the usual celebrity hotspots saw her this most recent trip, the owner of one can attest to the vegetarian part.
Ronald Brabander, who runs Blondie's restaurant in nearby Gravenhurst, recalls catering for Shania one night and preparing 16 entrees to ensure there'd be one to fit her taste.
"We had an entire vegetarian menu," he said.
"We had to make smoked tofu in case she didn't like the arugula salad, and we had sushi rolls if she didn't like that."
Twain isn't the only celeb to zip up to the Muskokas, which are only increasing in popularity to the rich and famous.
RICH AND FAMOUS
Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell and daughter Kate Hudson are longtime staples in the area, with actor Tom Hanks and director Steven Spielberg supposedly owning property as well.
Billionaire media mogul Ted Rogers and Robert Lantos, founder of entertainment giant Alliance-Atlantis, each have massive estates along the water.
*Muskoka is cottage country north of Toronto and north of Gord's hometown of Orillia