Céline Dion made a career out of singing power ballads such as My Heart Will Go On, which featured in the 1997 film Titanic.
After losing her husband and manager René Angélil to cancer in 2016, she has been a devoted mother to their three sons, who in turn, have helped her through her very public battle with Stiff Person Syndrome.
Now, as she prepares to get back on stage for a series of shows – her first in six years – let’s take a look at the Canadian-born singing superstar’s relationship with her late husband and three sons.
Watch the video above.
René Angélil
Dion first met René Angélil when she was just 12.
She had written and recorded her first song, Ce n’était qu’un rêve, with the help of one of her brothers and mother, before another brother, Michel, sent the tape to Angélil, a former musician turned talent manager.
He in turn invited the young Dion to audition for him, with the star saying she knew she had done a good job when he started to cry.
So certain was Angélil that the young singer would be a star, he mortgaged his house to finance her first album.
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Céline has always maintained their romantic relationship only began once she became an adult, with varying reports that she was 18 or 19.
She revealed in her memoir, Céline Dion: My Story, My Dream, that she had long dreamed of being with Angélil, and that wish finally came true the night she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1988.
“I threw myself into his arms,” she wrote.
Her mother reportedly initially opposed the coupling as he had been married and divorced twice before, but she eventually came around.
They became engaged in 1991, but continued to keep their relationship a secret from the public, before finally announcing it upon the release of her 1993 album, The Colour of My Love.
Dion wrote on the album’s liner notes, that their “special dream” was “too powerful to keep inside”.
They married in a lavish ceremony at the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal on December 17, 1994, with the event broadcast live on Canadian TV.
Five years later, Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer and the singer took a break from performing to be by his side through treatment.
When he went into remission, they celebrated by renewing their wedding vows. That same year, they announced they were expecting their first child.
René-Charles was born on January 25, 2001.
After trying for some time to expand their family via IVF, they announced they were expecting twins in May 2010.
Nelson and Eddy were born on October 23, 2010.
The following year, Dion embarked on what would become an eight-year residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
But just two years into the residency, Angélil had a tumour removed from his throat in December 2013, leading to a second cancer diagnosis.
It prompted her to take a step back from her residency and cancel a planned tour of Asia.
In 2015, the star admitted she was scared of what was to come, but was trying to be strong for her husband and kids.
When he told her he was scared and wanted to die in her arms, she told him, “I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms”.
Angélil died on January 14, 2016, two days before his 74th birthday. They had been married for 22 years.
That same year, in an interview to mark the 1000th performance in her Las Vegas residency, she revealed she had only ever kissed her husband.
“I never kissed another man in my life. So the man of my life was my partner, and we were one,” she said.
“Before he left, it was very, very difficult for all of us. For me especially, and my children, to see the man of my life die a little bit more every day. So when he stopped suffering, I said to myself, ‘He’s okay’. He deserves not to suffer.”
She marked the five-year anniversary of his death with a post on Instagram that included a close-up photo of their two hands, entwined.
In 2021, she said she still felt her husband’s presence in her daily life. That same year, she said she was not thinking about another relationship.
The following year, in a post marking the sixth anniversary of his death, she wrote, “I would be lying if I said I’m fine, I think of you at least a hundred times, cause in the echo of my voice I hear your words just like you’re there… I miss you – Céline xx…”
Then in January 2026, she marked the 10th anniversary of his death on Instagram.
“Mon amour, 10 years without you feels like just a day, and yet each day feels like a decade,” she wrote.
”Ten years without your caress, and yet every day I feel your touch… We miss you more than we can bear, but you taught us to be strong. We love you more, every day and every year.”
She signed off with the names of herself and three children, and included a photo of her late husband’s portrait sitting on a piano with a spotlight shining down on it.
René-Charles
René-Charles Angélil was born on January 25, 2001. He was named after his father, who was 59 when he was born, while she was 32.
His birth came after his parents underwent IVF treatment, following his father’s first battle with cancer.
His mother has often spoken about her devotion to her eldest son, recalling that she breastfed him for a year and would spend the time marvelling at everything about him.
She accepted a Las Vegas residency from March 2003 to December 2007 so she could take a break from touring and devote herself to motherhood during the day, saying at the time, “I am a full-time mum. That’s my priority. Then I go and sing a few songs at night”.
After dabbling with sports, including hockey, while growing up, he decided to pursue a music career, releasing two songs in 2018 on SoundCloud, which went to number one and two on the platform’s R&B & Soul New & Hot chart.
In 2021, he released an EP, which won his mother’s praise.
She marked his 21st birthday in 2022 with a heartfelt post on Instagram that included a throwback photo of herself and René gazing lovingly at their son after his birth.
“René-Charles, 21 years of dreams have already passed,” she wrote. “We gave you life… Thank you very much for giving us the wonderful gift of becoming your parents.
“Since that day, I’ve been thriving as I watch you grow. Your intelligence, your generosity, your courage, and your great sensitivity never cease to move me. We guided you from our dreams, by holding your hand. Keep exploring and above all, listen to your heart, knowing that you are always carried by our love, so that now your own dreams can come true.
“Happy Birthday René-Charles! Have fun my darling… We adore you! T.V.E.C.– Dad, Mom, Nelson and Eddy xx.”
René-Charles became a tower of strength for his mother following her diagnosis with stiff person syndrome, which she revealed in December 2022.
He even accompanying her on stage at the 2024 Grammy Awards.
Nelson and Eddy
After a reported six rounds of fertility treatment and a miscarriage, twins Eddy and Nelson were born on October 23, 2010.
She was quoted as saying they had very distinctively different personalities even as infants.
They were just five when their father lost his long battle with cancer. She reportedly waited several days to break the news to the twins. When she did, she threw a party and referenced the movie Up, telling her sons their father had floated away on balloons.
When she returned to touring in 2019, she decided to leave her twins and older son at home so they could keep their routine, instead flying back and forth to be with them.
She marked their 10th birthday in 2020 with a heartfelt post on Instagram.
She also shared a photo of herself surrounded by her three sons on Instagram to mark Mothers’ Day in 2022.
When she announced on Instagram in 2022 that she had been diagnosed with stiff person syndrome, she credited her three “precious children” for “supporting me and giving me hope”.
She gave another rare glimpse of her youngest sons in November 2023 when they attended a hockey game in Las Vegas, where they live, and referenced them when she marked International Stiff Person Syndrome Awareness Day in 2024.
“I am deeply grateful for the love and support from my kids, family, team and all of you!”
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She also took the opportunity to share a picture of her sons surrounding her as they posed on a tri-level podium at the K1 Speed go-kart race track in Las Vegas.
Since then, she has revealed they have supported her during her health battle.
In 2024, she told People she was initially consumed by fears she could die and they would be orphans, leading to difficult conversations.
“I let them know, ‘OK, you lost your dad, [but] mum has a condition, and it’s different. I’m not going to die. It’s not something that’s going to go away, [but] it’s something that I’m going to learn to live with’,” she said.
“We started to talk to them about what’s going on,” she said of explaining her symptoms, which can include a ‘crisis’, during which her body goes stiff and she endures excruciating pain.
“They saw a crisis – we explained it, we played it frame by frame. When I make a sound, or when I don’t make a sound, and what can they do.
“They can help me out even if I don’t communicate verbally because I can’t produce a sound.
“We have panic buttons in the house and they know how to put me on my side.
“This is our lives now: We care for each other, and they’re so helpful.”
Her sons, now aged 25 and 14, will no doubt be cheering Dion on when she takes to the stage for her first concerts in six years. She will perform 10 shows in Paris in September and October.
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