She also recalled the night her husband, Rene Angelil passed away. "That evening I didn’t want to wake him."
Editor's note: This article was originally published on December 14, 2021. It has since been updated.
Just when we think the love between Celine Dion and Rene Angelil can't get any more perfect, we learned something new about this inspiring couple. After her husband's death, Celine Dion opened up on multiple occasions about their life together and the incredible love they shared. From the very first moment they met up until the very last moment of his life, the couple portrayed commitment, grace, and maturity. But not many know how incredibly hard it was for Dion to love someone so intensely and learn to let go of them with compassion, and how heartbreaking the fateful night was when songstress' life changed forever—the night her best friend, manager, husband, and soulmate passed away. The super talented star started her career as a singer at the age of eleven.
Recalling the times she was terrified of losing him, the singer revealed her childlike vulnerability that hits home to many who played the role of a caretaker for a loved one. “I am scared of losing him because it’s bad,” she told PEOPLE. “But I have to show myself, my husband, and my kids that I’m strong and we’re okay.” Adding to the same chain of thoughts she said, “You can have your shaking knees at the end, but when someone you love falls and needs help, it’s not time to cry. Afterwards, sure. But not yet.”
Dion took it upon herself to be responsible for her husband's peace of mind and also be there for their three children; therefore, she decided to stay strong and do what was needed although she was hurting deeply inside. "When you see someone who is fighting so hard, it has a big impact on you," she said. "You have two choices. You look at your husband who's very sick and you can't help, and it kills you. Or you look at your husband that's sick and you say, 'I got you. I got it. I'm here. It's going to be just fine.'"
“Rene wanted to die in my arms,” 52-year-old Dion revealed, but she was performing that night and Angelil passed away after falling out bed. “He must have wanted to get up and he fell on the floor,” she told Paris Match magazine in a candid interview, as quoted by US Weekly.
“Normally, after my show when he had taken his last medications, I gave him a kiss, tucked him in, and sent him off to sleep. That evening I didn’t want to wake him. It was the nurse who found him the next day. Distraught, she came to find me,” she narrated in French.
“My mourning began when the disease took hold,” she said. “I became fully responsible for his life, even in the most intimate moments.” While she wanted to stay strong for his sake, Angelil "needs something more sensitive than that, more than just positivity. Sometimes he just wants me to enter into a different place with him."
She continued, "I'll say, 'You're scared? I understand. Talk to me about it.' And René says to me, 'I want to die in your arms.' OK, fine, I'll be there, you'll die in my arms," E! quoted her.
Dion, who worked all her life with her music-producer husband, recalled her first show without him. "That first show, it will be fragile," she said. "There will be moments of emptiness, laughter, awkwardness, tearing up. But that's the point of coming back—otherwise, I just release an album." And she went through with it because she wanted to show her dying husband that she is OK and that she is strong enough to take care of herself and their children.
At the age of 73, the father of three passed away fighting his last battle with throat cancer. It's been four years since Angelil's passing but his beloved wife reveals that she thinks of him every single day. She is not looking for love because she believes she is already full of her husband's memories and love. "If I do find someone, great. If I don't, great," she said in an interview with Andy Cohen. "Because I'm still in love, once you are in love so much... I have lived all my life with René, he is still within me. I see him through the eyes of my children every day. I'm so passionate about life. I'm so lucky to have my three beautiful children."
If this isn't eternal love, what is?
References:
https://www.parismatch.com/People/Musique/Celine-Dion-Pour-Rene-je-reprends-gout-a-la-vie-971170
Source: Getty Images | Photos by (L) Ethan Miller (R) Evan Agostini
