It’s been a difficult several years for Celine Dion. In January 2016, the French-Canadian singer, now 55, suffered the death of her beloved husband and longtime manager Rene Angelil. Celine and Rene had been married for over 20 years and shared three children when he lost his long cancer battle at age 73. More recently, over the past few years, Celine has taken a mandatory hiatus from performing and the public eye thanks to a diagnosis of stiff person’s syndrome — a condition which causes persistent muscle spasms.
Fans of the ‘Because You Loved Me’ chanteuse haven’t been completely deprived of their idol, however: Celine contributed songs and co-stars as herself in the recently released film Love Again. The romantic comedy stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas as a woman mourning the death of her fiancé who learns to (you guessed it) love again when she meets a handsome journalist played by Sam Heughan. What about Celine’s real-life romantic outlook? Will the woman who became a Grammy-winning superstar via dozens of classic power ballads about love and devotion find love again herself? Here’s what Celine has said about love and marriage.
In a heartbreaking interview in 2018, Celine remembered Rene, his final days, and their life together. The pair met professionally when she was just 12-years-old, and their relationship became romantic in her adulthood. “He taught me everything. He’s the only man I’ve seen. The only man I’ve loved. The only man I’ve kissed,” she recounted. “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.”
And she’s found a way to keep that love and bond alive even today. In a separate interview with Stellar, she explained that she uses a bronze replica of Rene’s hand to touch before each performance in a simulation of a pre-show ritual they had during his lifetime. “I shake my husband’s hand and knock on wood with him every night before every show. Even after he’s gone,” she said. “I still talk to him. I’m trying to prove to him every day I’m fine. Our kids are growing, we feel strong. We’re good.” (Watch the video below for a recap of how Celine got through her first year after Rene’s death.)
Celine and Rene shared three sons: Rene-Charles, now 21, and twins Nelson and Eddy, now 12. As far as any other men in her life?
“I don’t date. I’m not ready to date,” she told the Today show in 2019. “I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me — they make me laugh.”
Two years later, in a followup interview on Today, Celine added that she had “no idea” when she might be ready to date again. “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,” added the ‘My Heart Will Go On’ singer. And 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.”
See below for more pics of Celine’s life in the spotlight with Rene and their family.
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