Love after loss for Celine Dion
The singer has found love once more – with her handsome back-up dancer
Earlier this year, Celine Dion insisted it was “definitely too soon” for her to find love again following the death of her husband Rene Angelil. But 18 months after his tragic passing, it seems the singer has found a man who is helping to heal her heart. The pop icon, 49, has been
spending increasing amounts of time with her back-up dancer Pepe Munoz, a handsome Spaniard 17 years her junior, leading many to believe they are now officially a couple. Woman’s Day spotted the pair enjoying an intimate dinner in Paris late last month, and onlookers in France say it seems Pepe is very much Celine’s new squeeze, after they were spotted arm-in-arm outside the Ritz Hotel in the French capital. Former circus performer Pepe, 32, came into Celine’s life in June, when her butler’s wife recommended him for a role on the diva’s European tour after seeing his sexually charged performance in the Cirque du Soleil show Zumanity in Las Vegas. Although a rep for Celine claims their relationship is purely platonic, Pepe is obviously smitten with the star, telling Vogue magazine, “She’s the kind of person [for whom] the day has no schedule, no time, no nothing, so whenever she feels the creativity coming, that’s what happens… She makes you feel welcome, like you belong to the family and like you’re part of the group.
“She’s absolutely fearless with her style, her dancing, her performing, and as a person in her clothes. She gives [fans] a surprise and a shock because the looks are outrageously wonderful. She wears the clothes – the clothes don’t wear her – and that’s super-important.”
A reality TV star and dance teacher in his native Spain, Pepe also describes himself as a “self-taught illustrator” and has shared several sketches of Celine with his 59,000 followers on Instagram.
For Celine’s fans, reports of a new man in her life have come as welcome news after the heartache she’s endured. Celine’s long-time manager and husband of 21 years, Rene Angelil – the father of her sons Rene-charles, 16, and six-year-old twins Eddy and Nelson – died after a long battle with throat cancer in January 2016, aged 73. The pair had first met in 1980, when she was 12 and he was 38.
In April, when asked about any new relationships, Celine said, “Now it is definitely too soon for me. I am definitely in love with him [Rene], married to him. He’s the love of my life. It’s very difficult for me to see myself with another person.
“The love that I have for him, I live it every day. And as a woman, we do have emotions and feelings that come and go. And it’s always with him. When I sing, it’s with him. When I hug my kids, it’s for him and it’s with him. I took time to grieve and I’m still grieving.”
However, in June, she hinted she may finally be ready to embrace love once more, saying, “I’ve always said that music is a language that has no barriers, and it’s also true that love is an emotion that has no barriers.”
Pepe is not the first colleague Celine has been linked to. Just a year ago, there were rumours she was romantically involved with Kevin Girouard, who Rene had hired as his wife’s guitarist in the months before he died. However, while Kevin confirmed they had an “incredible” bond, it soon proved he and Celine were purely working together.
‘She makes you feel welcome, like you belong to the family’