Back in January, Celine Dion’s husband of 21 years, Rene Angelil, passed away following a lengthy battle with throat cancer.
Shortly thereafter, her brother, Daniel Dion, died also after fighting stage 4 cancer that began in his throat and spread to his brain and several other organs.
Understandably, Celine has chosen to keep a low profile for the past few months, but it seems she’s now ready to return to the spotlight, which she says is the best way she knows how to pay tribute to the husband who helped make her a global icon.
Celine covers the new issue of People magazine, and she’s also slated to perform at the 2016 Billboard Awards this weekend, where she’ll perform Queen’s “The Show Must Go On,” a song that had special significance to her and Angelil:
“René always insisted the show must go on,” the singer says.
“You know what, I’m 48 years old and I lost the love of my life. I miss him a lot from when he was great but not when he was suffering. I cannot be selfish. You have to let people go. I feel at peace.”
As much as she clearly misses Angelil, it sounds as though Celine is in a way relieved that his long health struggles are at end:
“It’s been a long, long journey,” Dion says about caring for her late husband. “We were living in hope, knowing that there’s no hope.”
Now, she says, she’s primarily focused on showing her kids that (apologies for the unfortunate Titanic pun) her heart will go on:
“I really, really want to prove to my kids their mother is strong,” she tells the mag.
Celine and Rene had 3 children together, René-Charles, 15, and 5½-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy.
In addition to being her husband, Angelil worked as Dion’s manager and promoter for the bulk of her legendary career.
