[Photo: Ron Tom/ABC via Getty Images]LeAnn Rimes is out of treatment, refreshed and starting over. After voluntarily checking herself into a month-long, treatment program for "anxiety and stress", the singer is ready to put the past behind her.
In a tear-filled interview with Katie Couric, 30-year-old Rimes said, "People look at you and go why are you struggling? …No one can quite understand why you hurt so badly."
[Related: LeAnn Rimes' Decade-Long Journey Of Ups And Downs]
A child country sensation-turned-crossover pop star, Rimes has been in the public eye for most of her life--and it ultimately affected her sense of identity. She confessed to Couric, "I was this big voice, this little girl that, you know, no one really knew much about. I couldn't really grow up even understanding who it really was that I was."
As an adult, Rimes has been subjected to heavy tabloid coverage in recent years. Her personal life hit headlines when the singer and actor Eddie Cibrian began a relationship while they were both still married to other people. Already a target, Rimes was then widely criticized for being too thin after tweeting photos of her svelte bikini body. (The star has denied she has an eating disorder.)
But things are finally looking up for the star. With her treatment complete, Rimes seems optimistic and looking forward to the future. She told Couric, "I feel like I am starting over even though I've had all these years behind me. How many people get to (start) over again in this day and age?"
Rimes recently told the Boston Herald she is taking things one day at a time. The mean comments she reads about herself on social media outlets are still tough. "It's hard to take it day after day of reading and seeing things that someone you don't even know says about you," she said. "As much as you said you don't want it to penetrate, it does, because you're human."
[Related: LeAnn Rimes' Emotional Stage Return]
For more from Rimes, including rumors of an eating disorder and her marriage to Cibrian, watch "Katie" this Thursday (check your local listings) "All Access Nashville with Katie Couric," a special edition of "20/20", airing this Friday at 9pm ET.
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