Married for 21 years, their relationship was defined by deep love, mutual respect, and shared dreams.
A Tearful First Meeting
Their journey began when 12-year-old Celine met 38-year-old René, who became her manager. Moved by her talent, he was brought to tears. “While I was singing, he started to cry,” Celine recalled. Their professional relationship blossomed into romance when she turned 19, though they kept it private. Celine finally declared her love in her album The Colour of My Love: “It was like bang! Love! Love always wins.”
A Fairytale Wedding in Montreal
René proposed in 1991, and they wed in December 1994 at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal. Celine, then 26, stunned in a Mirella and Steve Gentile silk gown with a 20-foot train and a Swarovski crystal tiara. “I’m not surprised we married each other,” she said later. “We have the same dreams. We have the same goals.”
In 2000, they renewed their vows in a grand Orthodox ceremony at Caesars Palace, with Celine donning a golden gown. “It’s almost like a show, and we’re show business people,” she remarked.
Battling Cancer Together
Their love was tested when René was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. Celine paused her career to care for him. Though he recovered in 2000, the disease returned in 2013. After a terminal diagnosis in 2014, he passed away on January 14, 2016, at age 73. “For me especially, and my children, to see the man of my life die a little bit more every day… when he stopped suffering, I said to myself, he’s okay. And he deserves not to suffer.”
Celine and René’s children
The couple had three children: René-Charles and twins Nelson and Eddy. Their road to parenthood wasn’t easy—Celine underwent fertility treatments and multiple IVF attempts before welcoming their sons. “You know, I’m not really a singer. My life is to be a mom,” she told People. “It is my most amazing reward.”
Everlasting Love
Since René’s passing, Celine has focused on her children and career. “I think I will probably grieve for the rest of my life,” she admitted. “I miss him a lot.” Producer David Foster described their relationship as “one of the greatest love stories ever.”
Celine has maintained that she was not ready to start another relationship, telling the Today show in 2019: “I don’t date. I’m not ready to date. I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surroundings to make me — they make me laugh.”
Two years later, Celine added that she had “no idea” when she might be ready. “Right this second, love is so big right now in my life, with my kids, with life itself, I’m not thinking about a relationship and falling in love again. Do I have to say that it will never happen anymore? I don’t know. I don’t know.”
Her beloved Rene, she reiterated, is still very much a part of family life. “I see my kids. I look at them — we live with him,” she mused. “We still live with him. He’s part of our lives every day, so I have to say that I feel very, very strong.”
A love that transcends time, Celine and René’s story remains one of music’s most touching romances.