In the essay, the singer revealed that as a child, 80 per cent of her body was covered with psoriasis. She spent much of her childhood and teen years, including time in the spotlight – Rimes released her first album aged 13 – desperately trying to hide the condition, before finding a successful treatment in her 20s.
She said that this year, with the stress of the pandemic, her psoriasis returned: "Stress is a common trigger for psoriasis, and with so much uncertainty happening, my flare-ups came right back."
Rimes said her husband of nine years, Eddie Cibrian, told her he "didn't even see" her psoriasis, something she could never understand in the past, but was starting to now she'd shared these pictures.
"Will these photos change the way I live? Will I wear shorts out to the grocery store? I honestly don't know. But what I do know is that it's amazing how small we can keep ourselves. When you finally allow yourself to step outside of what you've been caging in, the whole world opens up. There's freedom in even just putting one foot outside the door," Rimes wrote.
Fans and other people living with psoriasis flooded Rimes' post with supportive comments.
"LeAnn – I am so proud of you. I saw this photo and immediately got goosebumps. You've broken free. You're flying," wrote one fan.
"My dad had the worst psoriasis I ever witnessed in my life and it greatly impacted his quality of life and I remember this so vividly when I was growing up and he was still alive. Thank you for being so vulnerable and brave in your beauty!" said another.
"I suddenly feel less ashamed of my psoriasis," wrote another.
"I know there's so many out there who relate to this, and relate to me. Know that you're not alone – that was my main reason for wanting to share so vulnerably," Rimes said in a message on her Instagram stories after sharing the photos. "Thank you for the love. You are loved too."
