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Celine Dion and Rene Angelil In Los Angeles, United States In March
1990.
After one of Dion's 13 siblings sent a tape of a then 12-year-old
Celine singing to Angélil, the well-known music manager invited her
to audition in Quebec. 'While I was singing, he started to cry,'
Celine has said. 'I knew then I had done a good job.' In 1981,
Angélil even mortgaged his house to finance her album and took the
teen and her mother on tour in Canada, Japan, and Europe.
1987: A SECRET ROMANCE
Celine Dion and Rene Angelil in Los Angeles in 1990
When Dion was 19, she and Angélil went on their first official date
in 1987 (though she admitted that they started seeing each other
about a year before that). She didn't announce their relationship
until five years later in the liner notes of her album, The Color
of My Love. 'I was afraid of what people would think,' Angélil has
admitted of their 26-year age gap. But Celine wanted the truth out
there: 'When you're in love, you want to scream it to the
world.'
1994: AN EPIC WEDDING
DECEMBER 15: Celine Dion's Wedding In Montreal, Canada On December
15, 1994-Celine Dion with husband Rene Angelil.
They got engaged in 1991, even though their romance was still a
secret to the world. But her mother did not immediately approve.
'It was very difficult for her,' Dion revealed. 'When I told her I
had some really strong feelings for René she tried everything to
kill him and make me snap out of it. I was very frustrated and mad
at first but she tried to make me understand that this man tried
marriage twice before, he has three children, he's not
responsible... Then it was so strong that my whole family was in
love with him and she had no choice.' Eventually, the couple
married in a lavish wedding ceremony at Montreal's Notre-Dame
Basilica on December 17, 1994, which was broadcast live on Canadian
television.
1995: NEWLYWED JOYS
World Music Awards In Monte Carlo, Monaco On May 03, 1995 - Celine
Dion and husband Rene Angelil.
Dion's star kept rising, which was great news for the newly married
couple and professional partners. (She received a World Music Award
in Monte Carlo, Monaco, in May 1995.)
1997: ACCOLADES AND A SIGNATURE SONG
Celine Rene Oscars 1997
Dion's version of 'Beauty and the Beast' won an Oscar and Grammy in
1991, but in 1997, one of her biggest hits — 'My Heart Will Go On'
from Titanic — won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
1998: A HARROWING DIAGNOSIS
In 1998, the couple's world was shaken when Angélil was diagnosed
with throat cancer. Despite her demanding career, Dion chose to
step back and take a hiatus to focus on her personal life and care
for her husband. Looking back on their years of marriage, the star
has said they've certainly had tough times: 'We had tension between
us. It's never easy being husband and wife, but add to that we are
in business together, dealing with all the added pressures of
shows, concerts, tours, traveling. It was hard – a lot of hard
work.'
2000: MUCH TO CELEBRATE
In 2000, Celine and René renewed their wedding vows in a
traditional Melkite Byzantine ceremony five years after their
wedding in Montreal,
Angelil was declared cancer-free in 2000. The couple celebrated by
renewing their wedding vows in a traditional Melkite Byzantine
ceremony in Las Vegas. Of the elaborate event, Dion said: 'It's
almost like a show, and we're show business people.'
2001: IT'S A BOY!
Pop star Celine Dion stands next to her husband, Rene Angelil, who
holds their baby Rene-Charles July 25, 2001 as they arrive at the
chapel of the Notre-Dame Basilica in old Montreal, Quebec before
the baptism of their 6-month-old baby boy.
Years of difficult fertility treatments finally paid off, and Dion
gave birth to son René Charles, the couple's first child, on
January 25. The couple baptized the baby that July at Notre-Dame
Basilica in Montreal — the same place where they married years
earlier!
2002: BACK ON STAGE
January 26, 2003 Rene Angelil and Celine Dion during Super Bowl
XXXVII - Pregame Show at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego, California,
United States.
Finally, Dion was ready to resume performing, with a healthy
Angélil by her side. In 2002, she released album A New Day Has Come
and announced her residency at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. In
January 2003, she kicked off the Super Bowl (pictured here) with
'God Bless America.'
2007: SAYING GOODBYE TO VEGAS
DECEMBER 15: Singer Celine Dion is embraced by her husband and
manager Rene Angelil and their son Rene-Charles Angelil after the
final performance of her show 'A New Day...' at The Colosseum at
Caesars Palace December 15, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Almost three
million people watched Dion perform 717 shows since it opened in
March 2003.
More than four years (and 717 performances and nearly three million
tickets sold) after her Caesars Palace residency began, Dion hugged
Angélil and their son René-Charles at the final show on December
15, 2007. Through the years, the star said they've had to relearn
to communicate. 'It's lessons that every married couple should know
to hold their relationship together... We laugh. We joke. We kid
each other. We want our marriage to last forever. Talk over
everything and you'll find you are still on the honeymoon.'
2010: MEET THE TWINS!
After multiple rounds of IVF, Dion and Angélil happily welcomed
fraternal twin boys: Nelson, named for South African President
Nelson Mandela, and Eddy, named for French songwriter Edd Marnay,
arrived on October 23. 'My greatest reward is my children,' she has
said. 'Unless you are a mom you don't know what you're missing or
what it even is really... It gives you true meaning to your life
and it's the most important job. Who cares if people like me as a
singer or not, they can find other singers and there will be other
singers. But no other mother can be a better mother for my children
than me.'
2013: FACING CANCER AGAIN, TOGETHER
The couple were devastated yet again when Angélil's cancer returned
in 2013. (They gave an interview about the diagnosis to Katie
Couric in April, 2013, pictured.) That December, he underwent
surgery to remove a tumor. The next year, the singer put her career
on hold again to care for her longtime love.
2015: THEIR FINAL BATTLE
In August, Dion returned to performing in Las Vegas, while Angelil
battles cancer at their nearby home. 'I didn't want to be here at
first,' Dion, 47, told USA Today of how her husband of 21 years
pushed her to go. 'But René really gave me a gift. All my grieving,
it was during this last year. I think I've got this. For now. When
it hits me, it's going to hit me. But my biggest job is to tell my
husband, we're fine. I'll take care of our kids. You'll watch us
from another spot.' Angélil, 73, has been on a feeding tube for two
years, and Dion tries to be strong during his lengthy illness.
'I'll say, 'You're scared? I understand. Talk to me about it,'' she
said. 'And René says to me, 'I want to die in your arms.' OK, fine,
I'll be there, you'll die in my arms.'
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