Celine Dion and her husband, René Angélil, in 2013
Celine Dion has always been open and honest about her personal life. When Celine was trying for a baby, she told the public about her fertility issues and multiple miscarriages. She had a successful pregnancy which resulted in twin boys, Nelson and Eddy, born in late 2010.
Last summer, Celine left her lucrative Vegas residency, citing her husband’s failing health and saying that she wanted to “devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing.” Celine has done just that. In a new interview with ABC News, set to air today, Celine revealed that her husband René Angélil’s throat cancer has progressed to the point where he needs a feeding tube to eat. Celine broke down as she explained that she feeds René, 73, three times a day. René had surgery which left him unable to speak or eat. Celine is also set to return to Vegas in August.
Dion, 46, revealed in an interview with ABC News’ Deborah Roberts that Angélil, 73, has to be fed by feeding tube because of his throat cancer.
“He can’t eat so I feed him,” Dion told Roberts during the interview in Las Vegas, at which Angélil was present. “He’s got a feeding tube. I have to feed him three times a day.”
Dion and Angélil have been married since 1994, after meeting 14 years prior. They have three sons together — a 14-year-old and 4-year-old twins. Dion has walked them through their father’s cancer battle.
“I really believe that children know it all,” Dion said. “We are afraid of explaining because we’re scared, because we’re worried.”
“If you tell the kids,” Dion continued, “like I said to my children, ‘You want to come and help me feed papa today…You want to help me out? Want to hold the water? You are a good feeder. Good job, Nelson. Good job, Eddie. Thank you so much. Come on, give a kiss to papa…'”
Now, nearly one year [after leaving her Vegas show] as Angélil continues his fight against cancer, Dion says the show, and their love, will go on. Dion will return to Las Vegas on August 27 with a brand new show.
“I’m doing it for him. I’m doing it for my fans,” Dion said. “We have a ticket to live. We have a ticket to ride. We’re living, so live. Let’s go.”
I wonder if Celine is returning to Vegas because she truly wants to or because she can’t get out of her contract and she’s taken her maximum one year leave. The last I heard, prior to her husband’s health crisis she had extended her contract until 2019. I do believe that Celine is caring for her husband on her own. She may have help from family, but she was also caring for her twins as newborns without outside help. (Her sister and mother had moved in with her to help at the time.)
The good news is that René was well enough to accompany Celine to the interview. ABC News has a photo of him and he looks like he’s doing ok. I hope this is Celine’s choice to return to Vegas and not something she’s doing out of obligation. I also hope her husband’s health is stable.
Incidentally, Celine was asked about fellow pop stars Mariah Carey also getting residencies in Vegas and she was very magnanimous about it. She said “I think it’s going to help all of us be the best of ourselves. There’s one Mariah. There’s one Britney and it’s wonderful not only for Las Vegas. This is a new, wonderful opportunity for us to be able to give our best.” She is so classy and I wish her and her family the best.
Here’s a clip of Celine’s interview:
omg, how sad! must be heartbreaking watching the love of your life struggle with health problems.
She was the first concert I ever went to. Unabashed Celion Dion lover here. She’s the epitome of a class act.
How sad for them. They have been together for so long. I wish Celine and Rene nothing but the best.
I sympathize. I had a similar situation. Different disease, but similar issues. Best wishes to Celine and her family.
I’ll admit, back in the 90’s when they got together, I thought ‘this old man is taking advantage of this young girl’. And now I’m kind of shamed. They seem to have a beautiful relationship. I hope he gets better. Here’s to love, in all its shapes and forms!
Same here WTF. Same here. I’m glad I’m wrong lol
I won’t lie, I thought it was creepy then and I still think it’s creepy now. I have always gotten weird vibes off of Renee Angelil. I do wonder if part of the reason why she extended her stay at Caeser’s is because of Renee’s gambling addiction?
Anyway, I do feel bad for her. I’ve always liked her, she just seems like she has a good heart and always behaves graciously towards others. His illness seems to have really affected her and her family :(.
I agree. I am sad that he is in ill-health, but it’s still creepy to me as well.
For me it’s always going to be creepy even though they do seem very in love. He first met her when she was 12 and I really don’t believe that they only began dating when she was 19. It’s gross that you would date someone you’ve known since they were 12 and you’re 20+ years older
I wonder if Tyga & Kylie Jenner are still together when he’s in his seventies people will find it so sweet. The age difference and creep factor was much higher with these two.
They have once in the lifetime conection. They both devoted to each other and I just love that conection.
I am very sorry for her family. No matter who you are or what you have, cancer can get you. I do hope that she isn’t being forced to go back to work.
My dad have the same cancer with the same issues .. It’s very difficult for everybody i know that ! I love her and i hope she’s able to take care of her too. Be strong Celine !
I am fortunate to have been able to see Celine in concert and she was amazing! Her voice is so powerful and she comes across as very genuine when interacting with the crowd.
My heart is broken for her husband’s health struggle and I pray for his recovery.
I adore Celine Dion and only wish the best for her and her family.
Wishing her and her family all the best.
I just love her. There’s something so real and genuine about her. She’s spirited and goofy, and just full of love and life. I like that she’s this super talented and gorgeous woman, but also a little bit of a dork. I love that.
I agree and I think that’s why people flock to her concerts. You really feel she’s singing from her heart. She’s like Aretha Franklin’s little sister; the Princess of Soul.
Me toooooo
love me some Celine!
Bless her and her family…what a difficult ordeal. May they find strength in their love.
She really is a classy individual. Best to her entire family during this time.
Best wishes to Celine and Rene. What a classy lady.
I can’t imagine watching my husband go through that. My heart goes out to her and to her children. How sad.
There are just some celebrities in this world who deserve all the success they have. I feel so much for her. I really hope her husband has many more quality years.
This is so heartbreaking.
Having just lost my dear aunt to cancer I know what she’s going through. There’s nothing worse in life than watching the people you love going through so much pain not being able to do anything to really help them.
She’s in a league of her own and i wish her family all the best.
I’m sorry about your aunt. That’s one of my biggest fears, these long, painful diseases.
That’s one of my big fears too. My dad’s childhood best friend’s father used to be the first non-white head of a medical department at a prestigious hospital. He was this jolly, loving Cuban man who was BRILLIANT and worked so hard. When his Alzheimer’s got so bad he couldn’t recognize his adult children, then his own wife, it was so sad. They had multiple adult kids, my dad’s best friend one of them, but he lived out of state. The other kids were keeping the dad on all his medications for high blood pressure, beta blockers, because he was at a high risk for heart attack. The son was so upset with them because he knew his father wouldn’t want to live that way, and when his brain was already gone, by keeping him on all these preventative medications they were prolonging the inevitable. He wanted them to take him off all the meds so nature could run its course. In that situation, it really seemed like the right thing to do.
Taking someone with Alzheimer’s off of their other medications to let “nature take its course” is not the proper way to deal with a sick loved one. As difficult as it is to be a care giver you can no more withhold needed medicine than food or water. The health complications of untreated diabetes or high blood pressure or whatever will make the situation worse, not better and cause additional suffering and stress for the afflicted person. It’s also certainly no guarantee of a swifter or merciful death.
Paola, please believe me, when your aunt had cancer, the ONLY thing that could truly help her was your love and the love of other family and friends. You couldn’t prevent her dying, but I promise that you helped, more than you will ever know.
Thank you.. What you said is so right..but watching the pain in her eyes was something really unbearable for me.
So many families are going through all this right now and it’s so very unfair. My heart goes to all of them. Celine Dion included. She really loves her husband despite everything that was ever said on them.
Aw you made me tear up, this is a lovely thing to have written to Paola. And you are so right GNAT. Bless both of you.
It must have been just awful, paola, I’m so sorry. And thank you,BooBoo. Bless you, too.
That’s heartbreaking. I wish them the best.
I’m reminded of the saying if you marry a person much older eventually you will be a nurse. Of course you could end up nursing someone your own age but the probability is much higher with 20+ year age difference. I’ve always found their love story very creepy given how young she was when he started working with her but supposedly he didn’t develop feelings until she turned 18.
Magically developed feelings when she became legal. How convenient.
So heartbreaking. I feel for Celine and her boys 😔
she seems to be such a NICE hardworking lady.. her music is not for me but she just seems to be the absolute nicest class act
That has to be so difficult for her and their whole family. Best of luck to them.
It takes so much love to care for someone like that. Love, and patience. I just visited my grandma, whose mother is 98 and in a care facility. She lived independently in a retirement community until she was 95, and after a fall kind of slid downhill. She’s okay, she’s just much slower. She can’t hear well and has incontinence, and sleeps a lot throughout the day. I can tell it’s difficult for my grandma to be there every other day with her, but she knows out of her four siblings she’s the one best emotionally equipped to do things like that. She has the patience and the stomach for it. I just have a lot of admiration for the family (and medical) caretakers in these situations. The humble ones will downplay it and say it’s a labor of love, which it is. But it’s also such a labor, emotionally and sometimes physically. Good for Celine and her kids.
So sad.
René looks good. I wouldn’t know he was ill by looking at that picture.
That picture of her on the front page–she looks like she’s going to burst into tears, poor woman.
All the best to her. It has to be heartbreaking.
Celine strikes me as someone who has worked very hard for everything she has & is genuinely grateful. Hopefully her getting back to work is a sign Rene is doing better and hopefully Celine will find some peace in performing again. Godspeed.
It’s so heartbreaking to care for your partner as they only get worse. She comes off very strong and wish them only the best.
This happens a lot. A partner gives up their work to spend what time they have left with them. Then the partner that is sick can feel regret like they’re holding back that person from living.
It’s possible Rene communicated to Celine he wanted her to perform, keep busy, and do what she enjoys.
Shes always struck me as an insanely talented genuine, nice and hardworking funny woman.
Best wishes and thoughts to her and her family
X
Cancer is such a BITCH. Just watched a friend and husband of four lose his beloved wife to cancer last weekend. I can’t even imagine how heartbreaking it was for him to care for her through her treatments the past three years.
It puts feet on the promise of loving another through sickness and health. Wishing all the best to Celine and her family as this difficult season of life together.
I feel very sorry for her.. and her children. Love guides you in these things..and it is so obvious how much she loves her husband. Has to be hard to see him in this condition. And hard for their young sons..
Prayers sent.
This makes me so sad. I lover her though. My mom used to play her cd’s every weekend while we cleaned.
In all dedicated relationships, we choose a path where certain opportunities are gained while other potential roads are closed. Both Celine and Angelil have filled their life experiences to the point where their cups runeth over. Angelil has masterfully managed Celine’s career while Celine has fulfilled her childhood dreams and adult destiny to become the talent and the woman she is. Holding it all together is a love for each other that only the two of them understand.
Their age difference has always raised eye brows, but who is to say that their age difference wasn’t the very thing that brought them such a rich life.
I’m always struck by the fact that Angelil doesn’t appear to have aged since the day they were married. Constantly, the grey and dignified man standing guard.
This erases any bad judgement I ever had of her (which, tbh, I have no idea why I even had any). All the best for her and her family. Hopefully, they’ll be able to overcome this illness.
This is absolutely heartbreaking and i completely empathize with her. My grandfather passed away after a short battle with cancer last August. He deteriorated quite rapidly and it was extremely painful to watch. He wouldn’t let anyone take care of him, except for my grandmother. They have been together for many, many years and to see their roles reversed… i still cry thinking about him sometimes. After my grandpa became sick, she had to feed and wash him because he couldn’t do anything anymore (cancer had spread to his brain). Cancer is a terrible, terrible thing. It takes a toll on not just the patient, but their families too.
My heart goes out to her. My mom had a feeding tube because cancer treatment damaged her esophagus. I had to feed her through it 5 times a day. It’s sad to have someone you love so much be in that condition.
You seem to have skipped over the fact that they have an older son Rene Charles who is about 14 years old now.
Love and compassion goes a long way to improve the quality of life of those suffering from critical illness; I know this personally (and professionally). Much respect for Celine’s willingness to speak publicly and to be an “open book”.
It is important to note that caring for an ailing person long term frequently results in what is called “caregiver burden” or “compassion fatigue”. This is why it is imperative to offer opportunities for respite to caregivers, as there are those will become so focused on the demands of care that they neglect their own needs. If they are not well themselves, they cannot continue to provide care.
Unfortunately, there are instances where caregivers have their own serious health issues, or they may be elderly and/or disabled, yet they have no access for assistance, or they may have ingrained cultural reasons for not asking for help.
This is so true, thank you for posting it, my mother almost killed herself caregiving for my step-father who had Alzheimer’s. It was a seven year ordeal, he was completely dependent on her presence 24 hours a day. By the end of his life she was exhausted and frail, and then she fell down and cracked her pelvis, then had a knee replacement, followed by lung cancer and surgery and finally a perforated gastric ulcer that required emergency surgery. Oh and then her dog died. She’s torn up and I’m a wreck because I’m the new caregiver. Life can really lay the burdens on thick and it is hard to find the strength to carry on especially when there isn’t any help for it, it just has to be endured.
The circumstances of their relationship always skeeved me out like nothing else in the 90s, but to their credit, they have always appeared devoted to each other. There are few things I can imagine more terrifying than watching a partner die slowly.
Longtime Celine fan here (no shame!). I’ve loved this woman for 24 of my 29 years. Grew up on her music and she has NEVER, to my knowledge, been anything less than a kind person and a class act. Great mom, great wife, great pipes. She deserves everything good she’s ever gotten.
I am sorry that Rene is ill again and I admire her for seeing him through his illness, all the while caring for three young children. Their age difference (Celine and Rene) has always sort of been weird to me, but they’ve been together for such a long time now that it really does seem like the real deal with them.
I am very impressed with Celine here, as a human being. She is very strong and wise.
Such a sad story. Best of luck to Celine and her family.
While I have a lot of admiration for Celine in being so involved in her husband’s care, I am glad that she is going back to work, for whatever reason.
Unfortunately, it does not sound like the outlook is all that good for Rene. And she is still only in her 40s and has those very small children. Returning to her work will put some balance back into HER life, which is what is needed.
Unfortunately (and I’ve been through it) when one member of a couple develops a serious illness, that illness can just absolutely take over the lives of both of them. And that actually is not good for either of them.
It can end up to be much healthier for both if at least some outside caregivers can enter into the equation.
I work for a non profit that houses cancer and transplant patients while they are receiving treatment. The caregivers are the silent casualties. They give so much to take care of their loved ones and they are also trying to hold everything together to keep life as normal as possible for themselves and their loved one(s). I sat in a yoga class at the house the other day and listened to a sweet lady tear herself down because she was so tired and didn’t feel like she was being a good caregiver because she found herself wanting a break just one day. It broke my heart.
I understnD what Celine is going through. I had a transplant myself a year ago. I’m doing fabulously now but I did see the toll it took on my family. Like Celine, they did it all for us as a family and would do it over, but there were many days that we all just wanted a break and to be a regular normal family.
I really hope Rene gets better soon and hope that Celine will find some respite. Bless them all for going through this with such grace. It doesn’t always happen that way.