Shania Twain Reacts to Jon Bon Jovi Calling Her His 'Spirit Sister': 'It Just Warms My Heart' (Exclusive)

• Shania Twain says Jon Bon Jovi's recent comment about her "warms my heart"
• The two singers both underwent a vocal fold medialization procedure
• Twain provided support to the Bon Jovi frontman before his surgery

Shania Twain and Jon Bon Jovi have a special bond that can’t be broken. 

In a recent PEOPLE cover story, the rocker, 62, called Twain, 58, his “spirit sister” for helping him through his vocal cord issues — the same she previously dealt with. (The two even shared the same doctor and had the same surgery to keep their voices — and careers — intact.)

“It just warms my heart,” Twain told PEOPLE on Saturday, May 11, when asked about the “spirit sister” comment. “It is a very special bond because there are very few singers that have ever had this nerve damage."

"It's not a typical singer's issue," the artist continued. "Typical singer's issue is nodules on the vocal cords. That's very common, but I've never had that. I shared my experience with him — before he took the plunge, I just shared the best I could without influencing him in any way. When you have this nerve damage, there is no cure. It's not like nodules. Nodules, they just shave them off — they go in with the scope, but it's quite advanced now. What we had to do is open-throat surgery. They cut your throat through your Adam’s apple and they put in a huge clamp that keeps it open."

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In his new Hulu docuseries, Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story, Bon Jovi details that he began experiencing issues with his vocal cords around 2015.

Trying to stay strong, he largely ignored the symptoms, but in 2018, the “Bad Medicine” singer turned to Twain for advice, knowing that she had a vocal fold medialization procedure.

“I didn't ask John how his [vocal cords] were damaged. We just discussed my process,” she explained. “I didn't get deep like that. We got personal about it, but I didn't ask for the real details."

"I can only share mine with you anyway,” the singer added. “There would've been no way for me to ever maintain a career with that damage, and the nerves don't repair. You can do so much to compensate the physiology, and I did do that for a year.”

Like her fellow musician, Twain has been able to heal and come back strong.

On Friday, May 10, she kicked off her latest Las Vegas residency show, Come on Over, a blend of energetic songs and stripped-down performances.

Reflecting on this residency — her third in Vegas — Twain told PEOPLE she once thought her vocal issues would end her career as a performer. 

“What I did was I said, ‘OK, if I'm never able to sing again, if I never find a solution. I will write for other singers who can sing.’ And I was actually very excited about that,” she detailed. “I would spend more time writing and I would continue to be able to hear my songs recorded, and that didn't make me sad. It made me very happy. So I say, look on the bright side and follow that. Just keep following the light. Don't go anywhere dark. It's not worth it.”