Celine Dion, 56, and her late husband René Angélil were married for a whopping 21 years, with their friends describing their relationship as a ‘love story.’
The couple – who had a 26-year age gap – got married in 1994, renewed their vows in 2000 and welcomed three children René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy, but René sadly died from cancer in 2016. Take a look back at Celine and René’s marriage…
Tearful first meeting
The couple met when the ‘My Heart Will Go On’ singer was just 12 years old and René, 38, became her manager. Celine opened up to People about her first meeting with her future husband, revealing that her incredible voice reduced him to tears. “While I was singing he started to cry,” said that star, who suffers from stiff person’s syndrome. “I knew then I had done a good job.”
The two had a very close working relationship with the manager proving his confidence in Celine’s talent by mortgaging his home to fund her debut album ‘La voix du bon Dieu.’
Their friendship eventually blossomed into a romance when Celine turned 19, but they kept their love life under wraps for several years before the singer revealed her love for René in the sleeve notes of her ‘The Colour of My Love’ album.
In a heartbreaking interview in 2018, Celine recalled how their relationship developed over time. “I fell in love with him immediately. Not in the romance way, I was 12 years old. I was in love with the way he treated everyone around me, including my whole family and myself.”
She also told People: “We kind of kept it cool because of my career. I was living that love secretly. When I was at the age to be able to say to people… It was like bang! Love! Love always wins.”
Montreal wedding
Rene proposed in 1991, two years before they went public with their relationship. They said ‘I do’ in the groom’s birthplace of Montreal, at the Notre-Dame Basilica in December 1994. It marked Rene’s third trip down the aisle, following his marriages with Denyse Duquette from 1966 to 1972 and Anne Renée from 1974 to 1985.
The All By Myself singer, who tied the knot aged 26, looked striking in a silk dress by Mirella and Steve Gentile complete with a 20-foot train made up of lace and crystals that would have required 1,000 hours of work, according to Vogue. She paired it with a statement tiara covered with Swarovski crystals.
A year later, Celine said: “I’m not surprised that we married each other, because we have the same dreams. We have the same goals. We respect each other.”
But this wasn’t their only marriage celebration – the couple also renewed their vows in an Orthodox ceremony at Ceasars Palace in Las Vegas in 2000 and Celine wore a beautiful golden dress. In a rare comment about their second wedding, Celine said: “It’s almost like a show, and we’re show business people.”
However, René was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999, and Celine took a two-year break from her career to support her husband as he underwent two surgeries.
Despite beating the disease in 2000, it came back in 2013. After having an operation to remove a tumour in his throat he was told that the illness was terminal in 2014. He passed away two years later on 14 January, with his rep releasing a statement that read: “René Angélil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer. The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment.”
To mark the sixth anniversary of his death, Celine shared a black and white picture of the music producer and wrote: “I would be lying if I said I’m fine, I think of you at least a hundred times, cause in the echo of my voice I hear your words just like you’re there.” She concluded: “I miss you – Céline xx.”
Celine and René’s children
The pair share three children: René Charles and twin sons Nelson, named after South African President Nelson Mandela, and Eddy, a tribute to French songwriter Eddy Marnay who produced her first five albums.
Celine previously revealed her journey to motherhood wasn’t easy, as she required fertility treatments and two operations to improve her chances of conceiving before welcoming her eldest child – whom she described as a “miracle child” – in January 2001. Meanwhile, her twins were born in 2010 after six IVF attempts.
Following the birth of her first child, she gushed: “You know, I’m not really a singer. My life is to be a mom,” she said to People in 2007. “It is what I enjoy the most. It is my most amazing reward. I will take a chance with my music. I don’t take risks with my family. He’s my priority. We organize our schedule according to his needs.”
Relationship confessions
Celine opened up about their relationship during an interview with CBS’s Mo Rocca as she celebrated her milestone 1000th performance in Las Vegas.
“Before he left, it was very, very difficult for all of us,” she said. “For me especially, and my children, to see the man of my life die a little bit more every day. And when he left, it was kind of a relief for me that the man that I love, the only man that I kissed, the only man that I loved.”
She continued: “Yeah. I never kissed another man in my life. So the man of my life was my partner, and we were one. So when he stopped suffering I said to myself, he’s ok. And he deserves not to suffer.”
Celine also confessed to The Sun: “I think I will probably grieve for the rest of my life. I miss him a lot. I miss him a lot — for my partner, for the man I was embracing, kissing, making love with. My worries, my dreams.”
Their friends also gushed about their relationship, with producer David Foster telling People magazine: “I’ve always said this since I met them in 1989, they were one of the greatest love stories ever, and I mean ever. They had trust. The way she looked at him, the way he looked at her.
“There was an age difference, but as with all great couples, whatever the discrepancies are in age, it just sort of melts away as the months and years go by. They just became René and Celine.”
Celine’s love life
Celine has maintained that she was not ready to start another relationship, telling the Today show in 2019: “I don’t date. I’m not ready to date. I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me — they make me laugh.”
Two years later, Celine added that she had “no idea” when she might be ready. “Right this second, love is so big right now in my life, with my kids, with life itself, I’m not thinking about a relationship and falling in love again. Do I have to say that it will never happen anymore? I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Her beloved Rene, she reiterated, is still very much a part of family life. “I see my kids. I look at them — we live with him,” she mused. “We still live with him. He’s part of our lives every day, so I have to say that I feel very, very strong.”
Celine’s stiff person syndrome
The star has recently admitted her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome began as early as 2008, but she wasn’t diagnosed until 17 years later. The My Heart Will Go On singer revealed she was hesitant to tell her children after they lost their father.
What is stiff person syndrome?
Stiff person syndrome is a rare neurological disorder.
Symptoms of stiff person syndrome include muscle rigidity in the trunk and arms, often triggered by noise, touch and emotional distress. Celine’s condition is characterised by muscle spasms.
People with stiff person syndrome suffer from frequent falls, because they lack defensive reflexes to save themselves. Sufferers are often unable to walk or move, and it’s twice as common in women than in men.
It’s not known what causes the disorder, and it’s often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, psychosomatic illness, or anxiety and phobia.
The disorder doesn’t have a cure, though anti-anxiety drugs, muscle relaxants, and anti-convulsants. Pain relief can also improve symptoms.
“I barely could walk at one point, and I was missing very much living. My kids started to notice. I was like, ‘OK, they already lost a parent. I don’t want them to be scared,’ ” she told PEOPLE. “I let them know, ‘You lost your dad, [but] mom has a condition and it’s different. I’m not going to die. It’s something that I’m going to learn to live with.”
