Celine Dion is this week’s cover story on the latest issue of People. It’s a welcome change from past weeks when we’ve seen a parade of reality stars like the Duggars, Kate Gosselin and Heidi Montag. Dion talks about her struggle to become pregnant at 41 after several failed in vitro attempts. Back in August of last year, Dion announced that she was pregnant when she was very early in the process. Her husband, Rene Angelil, later confirmed that the embryo didn’t “take” and that Dion lost the pregnancy. He also discussed the difficult process of in vitro and how they were “more determined than ever” to have another biological child. Rene and Celine are parents to son René-Charles, 9, and they’re working hard to give him a sibling.
After four unsuccessful rounds of in vitro fertilization, Céline Dion is not giving up hope for a second child, she tells PEOPLE in an exclusive cover story.
“I’m going to try until it works,” says Dion, 41, who has been giving herself daily hormone shots – and enduring the roller-coaster ride of emotions they bring – after the heartbreaking loss of a pregnancy in August and three other failed IVF attempts last fall.
“Five’s my lucky number,” she adds, “so this is the time it’s got to [work].”
While her husband/manager Rene Angélil, 68, says they “go crazy” waiting for the results after each try, Dion – whose new concert film and family documentary Céline: Through the Eyes of the World, will be released Feb. 17 – stays positive, focusing her energies on son Rene-Charles, 9, who is thriving as a second-grader at his new school in Florida.
[From People]
Celine has always been very open with her fans and this isn’t new for her. I would have a hard time sharing such personal details with the press, but I admire the fact that it doesn’t faze her at all. Maybe she hopes to let other women struggling with IVF and infertility know that they’re not alone. It sounds like such an emotional roller coaster and my heart goes out to her.
On a much more superficial note – how much eye makeup did they cake on Celine for that cover photo? She looks like a raccoon. I haven’t seen a larger version of the People cover but in the small one on People’s website (above) it looks like her giant fake eyelashes would make it hard to blink.
love the canadian cheese… and is adoption not an option
Adoption is not an option for everyone. Personally, I would rather adopt than spend tens of thousands of dollars just to have a biological child but that is not the right choice for everyone.
Wow, she does not age well. She’s only 41?
The way they keep stressing “biological child” makes me think that perhaps they will consider adoption at some point in the future, but that they’re going to keep on trying this way for as long as they can. And why not? If they have the money and financial situation to do so…
However, I personally would not go through all of that. I’d go for the adoption.
Well, she did marry an old man to begin with. And sperm gets old, too, plus he’s had cancer. She at least had one healthy child through the in vitro. But this stuff really isn’t the public’s business, so why is she after the PR?
Wonder why she doesn’t consider adoption?
She’s kinda crazy but I can’t NOT like Celine – great cheesy sing-alongs from the early 90s.
And aren’t 9 year olds supposed to be in third or fourth grade? Was R-C tutored/homeschooled in Vegas then put in public or private school in Florida?
Yeah, why is her kid a second-grader? If he’s 8 and not 9, ok, he’s a second-grader. Sounds like Mommy’s career got him held-back. Anyway, IVF is painful. Your ovaries swell and hurt. The mood swings and sudden nausea keep you home on the couch drinking ginger ale and sobbing at Lifetime movies. After all was said and done, I gave up on IVF. C’mon Celine, and put some energy into getting Rene-Charles educated properly!
I can appreciate her wanting to discuss it and share her experiences, but if it were me, I wouldn’t be so comfortable doing so, especially doing things like announcing a pregnancy very early on when it’s risky.
They certainly have the means to try repeatedly, but at some point, how much are you willing to put yourself and family through? Some things just aren’t meant to be. Maybe they just haven’t reached that point yet, but when they do, there are other options out there for them.
i’ve been through 8 fertility treatments, told i’d have to wait 7 years to be considered for adoption in the Canadian province in which i live (we’re on the waiting list), tried for international adoption, but we have to wait until 2014 in the program we’re in. believe me, adoption isn’t always the solution!
@ses – I was thinking the same thing. Shouldn’t a 9 year old be in 4th grade?? Does he have a learning disability?
As old as these two are I wouldn’t be surprised if she pumps out a Benjamin Button style baby.
Come on!! He’s almost 70.
She had the money and the opportunity to have more kids when she was much younger…why wait till you are over 40??
She chose her career over kids so let it be…
I think if you have a good relationship and money you shold have kids before you are 35 why did she wait so long??
Now she is whining about this and that..
So many orfans from haiti need good parents, why not adopting one?? They are lovely I would have adopted one in no times if I wanted to have more kids.
daily injections? hormones? What is disturbing about IVF is the risk for breast cancer with all those hormones. I’m certain that’s how Elizabeth Edwards got sick. She did IVF for her twins.
I think she should try IUI where they help the sperm bring it closer to the egg. This old guy may not have a lot of good swimmers.
Nothing quite says “My Private Heartbreak” like splashing it on the cover of People. The headline is hilarious. PRIVATE?
I honestly feel sorry for her almost 70 yo old husband, this is the time to devote to him, cause he’s kinda old..
some folks can’t have one baby..she at least has that..
“it drives us crazy waiting”..he’ll mess around and have a heart attack.
hmph, I’m sure he’d be happy, just like they are now. it seems easier for celebs to adopt, took my friends 2 yrs and they had to go and stay in Romania for months before they got their daughter and they are both doctors.
I’d adopt if I could at 41.
With all the money they have they could’ve adopted a dozen kids by now. I mean really why go through so much pain and anguish when their are millions of babies waiting to be adopted?
If she had her kid 9 years ago, she shouldnt have waited so long to try for another one, especially with such an old father just getting older. The problem likely isn’t her, but him, but I’m not a medical person I’m just guessing.
‘My Private Heartbreak’…splashed across the cover and pages of a tawdry gossip rag? Why yes, that makes perfect sense. 🙄
Is there anything that these celebs won’t divulge to keep themselves relevant???
why do people go through all the risk and cost of IVF when they could adopt a child who is already here and needs a second chance? seems kind of selfish to me.
I think I read that all the sperm they’re using is “on ice” – presumably a collection (what’s the right term? Vat? Glob? Tub? Squirt?) was stored prior to Rene beginning cancer treatments.
And I understand the difficulties of adoption (watching a friend try the process now), but it would have to be easier for a couple with extensive financial resources than the average Joe & Jane.
“Sorry Jane Q Doe, the correct answer was,,,What is splooge? What is splooge? Back to the board. Your turn Sean Connery”. Alex Tribek
@gigohead
wow, you must be a medical expert. could you diagnose my bunion on my pinky toes over the the internet and tell me exactly what I should do?
LOL @ Kevin!
Love having guys on this site.
Children are a highly variable species. If he has a late-winter or early-spring birthday he could easily be in the 2nd grade.
Um, no. A typical second grader is just turning eight in 2010. A child turning nine is a year behind. If he’s already nine and his birthday was not in the last six weeks, he is two years behind. True, a late Dec birthday sometimes starts with the next years class, but he would have turned eight, not nine. Unless he just turned nine, he is two years behind. I have a seven year old second grader, and there is a big difference between seven and nine.
I don’t know if this is true, but I read that she had problems with anorexia in the past. Although I’m not an expert on this subject, I wonder if maybe this could have affected her chances of getting pregnant. Is there a doctor in the house? Maybe s/he can explain it to us.
I saw Celine on Oprah yesterday. She seemed quite sincere about her son’s education and wanting to be super involved in his school and his studies. I wondered if it was an act to make herself look better, but now that I think about my coping mechanisms of becoming ultra dedicated to my little girl after having a stillborn , her dedication to her son is probably * very * real. She seemed to be so focused on him and his everyday life. They are hardly ever apart she said. ( She had mentioned he was homeschooled until recently. She said going to an actual school has made him more independent). I saw the similarities between her and I in dealing with the heartbreak of failing with the 2nd baby. After my incidents, in order to cope with the situation of my stilborn baby, I found myself going above and beyond with my daughters activities, cherishing the moments more often, and really making the time to teacher more and pushing myself to put enormous amounts of effort in finding challenging activities for us to play with to make her an intelligent little girl. We are always together and hardly ever apart. I was planning on going to go back to work, but due to my “epiphany”, I felt compelled to school her at home until she went to Kinder. Something told me she needed me more. Or maybe I needed her more. After I saw Celine’s interview I was like, wow, she is obssessed with her child, but then realized so am I!!!! That’s when I put two and two together and realized she and I are dealing with struggles of pregnancy the same way.
Hey,
Have you people that say it is selfish to conceive with IVF/IUI/etc. ever been through not being able to conceive? I think Celin Dion is selfish for different reasons, but it isn’t fair to say we are all selfish for fertility treatments. I went through IVF twice in at 27. I switched to IUI and succeeded at 29. Adoption is hard for those without money and can be painful. I suspect she could adopt. What ticks me off is that young girls and women can lie down, not even care, not take care of their children, and they are not selfish. Wow!
But Kevin is seriously funny. I do agree that it will be tricky to get pregnant for her. The age of the sperm and him having had cancer (affects sperm quality). They are likely using ICSI (look it up). Hormones are hard, but not on everyone. I never watched Lifetime, although I found that funny. Birth control is likely more dangers, but excess hormones of any time have risks. I called it good after two tries, because I simply didn’t have the money. Four tries are usually necessary on average according to one source from a Human Sexuality book I have. The doctor pushed IVF and prayed for it to work. Then, no prayer during the IUI. Money is an issue for docs. He said some cruel things. But I have twins (8% chance) and they are beautiful.
Cancer and fertility for Edwards? Sounds scientific. What research did you perform? What is the confidence interval for the percentages you didn’t list for this connection? Better yet, list your source and I will go look for it (singular)–probably out of Globe magazine. I can’t handle the fully non-scientific B.C.
As for Celine, she could likely adopt or use a surrogate. Surrogate egg and sperm or some combination, she would likely be there. Why she waited? No one ever asks other people who wait or maybe they do. But God is always given credit with them and IVF. The rest of us “made a pact with the devil” apparently. God just hates us. Or maybe science is partly responsible for fertility? Go figure.
I agree with the age stuff and school, but you know, maybe her kid needed to be held back. Too judgmental. Knock it off.
i am a huge celine dion fan. she is my favorite singer. according to interviews, they tried in 1997. it didn’t work, and two years later rene got cancer. her son was born in her early 30’s. and she had him home-schooled when she was in vegas. saying it is selfish for her to have a child is really unfair. the statement in and of itself boggles my mind. how is she selfish for wanting a baby?
I lost an infant son and was rendered infertile within 6 weeks at 23 year old. A year into pain and infertility I knew something was wrong and we adopted three daughters internationally within a year (after three years of HARD work,) twins and a singleton from 2 different countries. It wasn’t cheap but we put it ahead of everything else.
When IVF became popular and my own doctor was doing it, I jumped in with a set of paperwork ready for a fourth and last child to be adopted. Which ever came through first was fine. My insurance covered x amount of attempts. My doctor did not charge me or my insurance company for the balance of attempts but I did more attempts than Celine’s and gave birth to a son concieved through IVF at age 33. It was a painful over 2 years but so was attempting to adopt. We made it work as we wanted children.
Her problem is partially, the FIRST one worked for her which happens more today but still is NO guarantee. She probably figured it would happen again even older so she went to Vegas and waited years. Silly move in my opinion. She had frozen embryos as I know and consulted with her original repro specialist Zev Rosenwaks MD.
It didn’t happen first try again and she probably became more driven. I’ve been in her shoes but not at her age.
I wish her luck but if she’s performing it’s hard to do an IVF cycle and continue a normal life.
As for her son, no one knows what the issue (if any issue exists) and you really shouldn’t speculate. Perhaps he’s LD or just a little slower. I’m sure she had the best tutors for him. She should have taken better care of herself too IF she wanted to conceive again but again, that’s just my opinion. Good luck Celine, at 41 the odds go down but you just might hit it right.
None of you should be voicing your ignorant opinions about infertility or IVF unless you have been thru it. It’s like someone has DIED and you cannot move on because you cannot stop hoping. And BTW, adoption, whether in this country or abroad is just as expensive as IVF (if not more) and it takes much longer.
Yes..you guys are all right to some extent. My grandson was born on the same day as her son..JAN. 25TH 2001. My granson is going into the 4th grade. He could have been homeschooled or kept back a yr. But, why do we have to tear ppl apart on here? Let them live..or complain as they wish???? God bless!
Yes. I don’t think people who do IVF are selfish.
I think young girls who get knocked up and then expect someone else to care for the resulting child, are selfish.
Adoption is enabling people to continue with selfish, irresponsible behavior. “Its okay honey, go ahead, get pregnant, and someone will adopt your child”.