When René Angélil died on Jan. 14, 2016, superstar singer Céline Dion didn’t just lose her manager and producer, she lost her husband of 22 years and the father of her three children. She also lost her best friend. After her husband lost his seven-year-long battle with cancer, Dion feels that Angélil remains present in her and her children’s lives.
January 14, 2020, was the 4th anniversary of Angélil’s passing. Dion took the time to remember her late husband with a moving post on Instagram:
“There is not a day that goes by without me thinking about your beautiful smile. We miss you, thank you for watching over us, my love.”
Dion has become accustomed to life as a widow. Yet, she has taken the lessons she learned from Angélil, whom she met for the first time when she was just 12 years old, and made them her own. As she told GMA, he left her with “strength and power and positivity” that have sustained her in this new phase of her life.
Dion shared that though it was hard to let her husband go, having seen him so sick made her ready for it. Just before he passed, she remembers telling him:
“The kids are fine. I’m fine. I promise you we’re gonna be OK. Please leave in peace. I don’t want you to worry.”
When Angélil finally passed, Dion and their three sons, René-Charles Angélil, who was 14, and twins Nelson and Eddy, then aged 5, took the time to grieve before moving on.
Dion has kept her husband’s memory alive by posting pictures of him and frequently talking to the media about the process of moving on. In 2019, on the anniversary of his death, she tweeted a picture of Angélil with snow-covered mountains in the background and wrote:
“My dearest René....always with me.....always will be. In loving memory ... xx ...”
Dion feels that she has had to step up to take his place as a parent and as a creative force. She released the appropriately titled album “Courage” in November 2019, which she told TODAY was her first English-language album without René.
“Courage was representing the whole [experience], losing my husband, losing my manager, my kids losing their father, to find the strength to keep going, because I wanted to,” she shared. When asked if she still thinks of him as she makes important decisions about her music, she said:
“Before I talk, he goes through my mind, would he do that, is it too edgy? Would he be approving that?
“I believed in him so much, and I still do, but there’s a point that he’s not here anymore. I have to take charge of my life.”
When asked if she feels ready to move on in her romantic life, Dion has consistently responded “no.” Focusing on healing and spending time with her kids, as well as taking the next steps in her career, is taking all of her attention.
And there are some areas where René will never be replaced. “I keep my soul and my heart open,” she shared. “Because I am so much [about] love, you know—with my fans and my children and my family. And I feel that love, and it keeps me going.”
Her new album “Courage” is all about moving on while remembering where she’s come from. Dion’s advice to people like her who have a lost loved one is “You cannot stop living.” She adds:
“Go forward. Today’s the first day of the beginning of my life, because I know that, I don’t have to worry.”
