HER HEART WILL GO ON
THE BRAVE SONGBIRD IS TAKING THE LEAD SINCE HER SAD LOSS
Céline rebuilds after René
‘ They cope with the loss of their dad very well. They are helping me, I am helping them. It’s mutual’
It’s been more than a year since Céline Dion lost the love of her life – a year she understandably calls her worst yet. But just like her hit song, her heart is going on.
The Canadian singer is finally emerging from her grief and into a new stage of her life without husband René Angélil, who passed away from cancer last January.
Just two days after René, the father of her children René-Charles (16) and six-yearold twins Nelson and Eddy, died, her brother Daniel (59) also succumbed to cancer.
Since then, Céline’s focus has been on her children, but her slow return to the spotlight is now complete, with new shows, albums and projects in the pipeline.
However, it is clear her children come first.
“They’re remarkable. They cope with the loss of their dad very well,” says the songstress. “They are helping me, I am helping them. It’s mutual.”
Taking on the role as the leader of the family is something Céline (48) also credits with helping her find her purpose.
“He and I were always 50-50 in our life together,” she says of René. “Before, he said what we do, when we do this television show or not, or go on tour. He was on top of it all.”
But since his death, she says she feels “stronger” taking on new work and being able to stand up for herself.
And she makes it very clear to her children, especially eldest son René-Charles, that he must live his own dreams.
“I said to him, ’I never want you to feel the pressure of being the man of the house.
You have your own dreams and he is always with you in your heart, and I am here for you.’”
Incredibly, she returned to the Colosseum stage at Caesars Palace to continue her Vegas residency in late February after René’s death, paying tribute to him on stage. She is reportedly in talks to extend the contract to 2021. But an even more poignant move is her return to a place that saw Céline begin her ascent to stardom in the first place.
Originally singing the theme to Beauty and the Beast in 1991, the singer has returned to the 2017 live-action remake starring Emma Watson with a moving song How
Does a Moment
Last Forever.
“My first Beauty and the Beast, the decision was made with my husband. Now I’m making decisions on my own.
It’s a little bit harder,” she tells.
“I couldn’t say yes right away because I felt like I was kind of cheating in a way.”
But, she explains, because it was something so meaningful and special, the opportunity was something she couldn’t refuse. And René, when he was alive, had encouraged her to take part in the movie, she says.
“I was at the beginning of my career, it put me on the map. It put me where I am today.”
It’s evident the My Heart Will Go On singer is finding strength in her grief as her work schedule begins to fill up.
She has signed up as a mentor on the hit TV singing show The Voice, where she has already stunned contestants by openly passing on personal advice that René gave Céline throughout her performing career.
And if that’s not enough to keep busy, the singing icon is also working on her latest English- language record, which is expected out in 2018.
With all of these projects on the go, friends say that Céline is trying to show her boys that they can find a way to find joy in life after the family’s devastating loss. But the one thing that will always remain her top priority above all else is her family.
“He will always be with me,” says Céline, “but I’ve become the leader of our family. When he left us, he came inside of all my kids’ hearts and mine. He gave the rest of his 50% for me to be complete, to continue the rest of my life, to feel strong and to believe that I can still do this.”