Transcript

Celine Dion and René Angélil’s unique love story

It’s rare in the entertainment world to see a devoted couple like Celine Dion and René Angélil.

The pair proved that age doesn’t matter in relationships.

They enjoyed the blissful marriage for over two decades until René’s death drifted them apart in 2016.

Celine was just 12 when she met him for the first time as her manager and mentor.

She had love and respect for René since the very beginning, but her feelings towards him started growing later.

René was helping her transform from an unknown French-Canadian beauty with strong voice into a celebrated musical artist.

Their 26-year age gap was the reason, Dion couldn’t be open about her love towards her manager until she was of age. 

Celine was 19 and René was 45 when they started dating.

In 1991, while Celine began to break out into pop superstardom, the pair got engaged.

Three years later on December 17, 1994, they wedded in a lavish ceremony at the Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal, Quebec.

Their union and 26-year age gap didn’t go down well with Celine’s family at first, especially her mother.

She said that her mom was trying to make her understand that twice-divorced Angélil wasn’t the perfect partner for her.

However, the couple’s love and care for one another could prove her mom wrong.

After four years of marriage, their relationship rocked when René was diagnosed with throat cancer.

Then, the singer took a two-year hiatus to take care of her husband.

Fortunately, he was declared cancer free in 2000 and the couple celebrated by renewing their vows.

Their first child, a son, René Charles Angélil was born on January 25, 2001.

On October 23, 2010, they welcomed their fraternal twins, Eddy and Nelson via IVF.

However, in 2013, the couple’s world was shaken once again when they discovered that René’s cancer had returned.

That December he had a tumor removed from his throat.

In August 2014 the singer again took a hiatus from her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel to take care of him.

She said that she wanted to devote every ounce of her strength and energy to her husband’s healing.

In December, Dion celebrated her 21st wedding anniversary and last Christmas with her husband.

René tragically lost his long battle with cancer at 73 and Dion said her final goodbye to her longtime love on January 14, 2016.

He is survived by the couple’s three kids – René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy and his adult children from previous relationships, Anne-Marie, Jean-Pierre, and Patrick.

In October 2016, while performing her 1000th show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Celine said, ‘I’m still in love with him….I’m still married to him.’

She claimed that her latest album, Encore un soir, which was released on August 26, 2016 was a tribute to her late husband.