Celine Dion’s life following her husband’s death has never been the same. After all, Dion had known René Angélil since she was 12, and as her manager, he helped her become a global phenomenon. Angélil died in January 2016 from complications of throat cancer, a disease he had been struck by three different times since 1998. That cold, winter night, Dion lost her husband, manager, and father of her three sons. “I think I will probably grieve for the rest of my life,” she told The U.K. Sun in 2017.
Dion’s grieving process has proved nuanced and complex. From still considering herself married to him to the painful reminders that she wasn’t next to him when her husband died and finding solace in knowing his suffering was finally over, the Canadian star has gone through a lot of pain. But she also emerged as a new woman. Losing Angélil forced Dion to look inward and put her health first, something she had neglected out of fear.
The loss of her manager also pushed Dion to take the reins of her career. Seeing how much she can accomplish without him empowered her. The effect of Angélil’s death on Dion’s love life is another story. “I have never met another man in my life, never kissed another man in my life,” she said. “I miss him a lot.” Over the years, Dion has shed light on the many ways Angélil’s death affected her.
René Angélil’s death encouraged Celine Dion to fight for her health
Even though Celine Dion announced her stiff person syndrome diagnosis in December 2022, she had been suffering from the rare autoimmune neurological disorder for 17 years. Her symptoms included muscle spasms in her feet and throat that affected her ability to walk, breathe, and also sing. To focus on her health, Dion would have had to step back from her career. Instead, she went in denial. “I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to stay onstage. I wanted to be brave instead of smart. That was wrong,” she told People in June 2024.
That all changed when René Angélil died. When she lost her husband, the realization that her kids had also lost a parent took on a different meaning. “I barely could walk at one point, and I was missing very much living. My kids started to notice,” she said. The last thing she wanted was for them to face the fear of becoming orphans. “I let them know, ‘You lost your dad. Mom has a condition, and it’s different. I’m not going to die,'” she recalled.
Dion was diagnosed in August 2022 as a result of that decision. She had to prioritize her health for her three sons, two of whom are still children. “It gave me a lot of strength to say, ‘First of all, I’m a mom, and I deserve to know what’s happening,'” she told ExtraTV in June 2024.
Celine Dion still considers herself a married woman
Even though years have passed since René Angélil’s death, Celine Dion still doesn’t see herself as a widow. “I’m still married to René. He’s still my husband,” she told People in June 2024. She keeps him present by putting up photos of him around the house, allowing plenty of opportunities for her children to interact with him. “They kiss the pictures,” she said. But Dion also carries Angélil with her when she needs his support.
When she has to travel for appointments or treatments, Dion takes photos of Angélil with her. But she also brings him along on family trips. “My kids are always asking, ‘Did you bring Papa’s pictures?’ And I’m like, ‘Yes, I have Papa’s pictures!'” she explained. This wasn’t the first time Dion had opened up about her family’s approach to Angélil’s absence. “We still live with him. He’s part of our lives every day, so I have to say that I feel very, very strong,” she said in a 2021 interview with Today.
Despite being in her 50s at the time of writing, she didn’t focus on finding someone new. Dion is content with her family life with her sons, but she also admitted that she has no control over what the future holds. “I’m not thinking about a relationship and falling in love again. I don’t. Do I have to say that it will never happen anymore? I don’t know. I don’t know,” she said.
Celine Dion regrets that she couldn’t hold René Angélil as he died
René Angélil knew where he wanted to be when he died. “René says to me, ‘I want to die in your arms.’ ‘OK, fine, I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms,'” Celine Dion told USA Today in 2015, a few months before his death. But she couldn’t make that happen because she had been performing the night he died. “Normally, after my show, when he had taken his medication late, I would go and kiss him, tuck him in, and he would fall asleep,” she told Paris Match magazine in May 2016.
However, that day she did things differently. “I didn’t want to wake him up,” she said. Dion had talked to him earlier in the evening, when Angélil called her before she walked onto the stage. “He said, ‘I wish you a great show, and I love you,'” she recalled in a 2016 People interview.
Even though the death of her husband was one of the worst events of her life, she tried to keep things in perspective. Angélil’s death was a long time coming, and she couldn’t have predicted it was going to happen that night. Still, it was hard not to wish she had seen him one last time. “I should have gone and said, ‘I love you and I’m here,’ but I don’t want to live with that regret,” she said. “I meant well by not waking him.”
Celine Dion finds solace in knowing René Angélil is no longer suffering
The reminder that René Angélil was no longer in pain helped Celine Dion keep going. Angélil’s fight against cancer was arduous, lasting close to 18 years. His pain was harder for Dion to watch than to accept he was gone. “I’m well because he’s not suffering anymore,” she said on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in 2016 (via Entertainment Weekly). “Because the hardest thing is not to lose somebody you love but to see them suffer.”
Angélil was found on the floor. Dion imagines he tried to get out of bed and fell. “It was the nurse who found him the next day. Panicked, she came to get me,” she said. Dion remained calm. She even had to comfort Angélil’s distraught doctor. “René is no longer suffering, it’s better this way,” she recalled telling him in the Paris Match interview. She kept that mindset while she prepared his body.
While she dressed him in his robe and placed a stuffed animal with a special meaning to them under his head, Dion promised Angélil she would be OK. “I’m fine, go in peace, that’s enough suffering,” she recalled saying. She meant it. “It was the coldest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life, but it was amazing. I said, ‘Promise me not to worry. I’m fine, the kids are great, we’re gonna be okay. It’s enough suffering,” she said in the 2016 People interview.
Celine Dion draws strength from René Angélil’s sacrifices
René Angélil was one of the biggest influences in Celine Dion’s life, and that remained true after his death. While dealing with the pain of losing him has felt insufferable at times, Dion has also drawn strength from the sacrifices he made for her career and their children. “He gave his all for me,” she told People in 2019. She reminded herself of that so she could keep going and growing. “I’ve never felt as beautiful, as strong, and I really think the best is yet to come,” she said.
But it wasn’t always easy. Dion took a year from her Vegas residency between 2014 and 2015 so she care for him but resumed a few months before his death. “I didn’t want to be here at first,” she said in the USA Today interview. But Angélil wanted her to go. So she did. Even though it meant a lot to her, the residency filled her with mixed emotions. “I never knew if I was going to come home and it’s going to be over,” she told People.
Ultimately, she believes her husband was right in pushing her in that direction. “René really gave me a gift,” she said. She rebuilt herself and came back stronger, putting on the many hats Angélil had worn thanks to his teachings. “I feel so powerful and in charge and grounded and happy,” she said on “Good Morning America” in 2019.
