Shania Twain Recalls the Conversation That Led to Her Dinner With Oprah Winfrey Going ‘Sour’

Shania Twain once discovered the one topic Oprah Winfrey won’t discuss lightly. As the music star chatted about religion with Jessie Ware and her mother, Lennie, on a new episode of the Table Manners podcast released Wednesday, she recalled an awkward dinner she once had with Winfrey. “I think one of my most memorable dinners was with Oprah Winfrey,” said Twain, 57, on the food-centric show, revealing that the pair dined at a restaurant together. “She’s such a smart lady.”

Ware, 37, prompted the pop-country legend’s story by asking about a memorable dinner from her life. While the “Any Man of Mine” singer mentioned the ’90s, she did not specify when this particular dinner happened. “It was great to just sit and have real talks, but as soon as we started talking about religion, it all went sour. So, I said, ‘Let’s stop talking about religion!’” Twain recalled. “She is quite religious.”

Winfrey, 68, has interviewed Twain several times throughout the artist’s decades-long career, and the two collaborated on OWN’s 2011 docuseries, Why Not? With Shania Twain. Even though they work together, they seem to disagree on religion since Twain doesn’t subscribe to any particular faith. “I’m not religious in the sense that I’m dedicated to a religion. I’m much more of a spiritual person,” she said. “I would say I’m a seeker.”

In her response, Twain cited a valuable piece of advice she learned that day: “Everyone always says, ‘Never talk about politics or religion.’” While the “That Don’t Impress Me Much” performer was open to discussing their religious differences, she said, “It just wasn’t debatable. There was no room for debate, and I like to debate,” added Twain. “Canadians like to debate everything. So, I’m like, ‘Oh, OK. It’s time to change the subject.’”

In 2010, prior to the debut of her reality show, Winfrey interviewed Twain during a so-called “upfront” presentation in New York, introducing OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network to advertisers. She told Winfrey that doing a show on OWN was another step toward moving forward as she recovered from the disillusion of her 14-year marriage to Robert “Mutt” Lange in May 2008 due to Lange’s relationship with Twain’s longtime friend and assistant, Marie-Anne Thiébaud.

“I feel like in a way, I’m starting over, with everything. This is a very personal experience that I think is important to share. This is an experience of recovery. I was in a very deep, dark slump, and I needed to find a way to get myself out of it. I had to force myself back out into life, back out into experiencing things.” Twain said the program’s title, “Why Not?”, referred to the first step she took toward recovery. “One day, someone said to me, ‘Do you want to go jump out of an airplane?’ ” she said. “I felt like I had nothing to lose anymore, so I said, ‘Why not?’ And every day since then, I ask myself that question.”