Famed musician Celine Dion reportedly broke down in tears during an ABC News interview with Deborah Roberts while narrating the struggles she’s having to undergo to take care of her 73-year-old husband and former manager who was diagnosed with throat cancer last year.
The Canadian singer talked about how her husband Rene Angelil’s throat cancer has made it difficult for him to eat, and now uses a feeding tube.
“He can’t use his mouth,” Dion said “He’s got a feeding tube. I have to feed him three times a day. I do this myself. And so I feed my husband and I feed my kids. We are taking life one day at a time, but we are choosing to live.”
Rene Angelil was first diagnosed with cancer in 1999, but recovered after undergoing a procedure in December 2013 to remove the tumor from his throat. Dion subsequently took an indefinite leave of absence from the stage last year to care for Angélil after he was diagnosed with cancer for a second time in August.
“I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and our children,” she said at the time.
Dion has now revealed that she will be resuming her residency at Caesars Palace Las Vegas on August 27 with a revamped performance.
“It was Rene’s wish that I come back,” the singer, 46, said in a statement. “While my family will always be my priority, my fans are just as important to me. I look forward to performing again for all of you starting August 27th, and more importantly having Rene there with me.”
“It is very emotional for me, and I’m anticipating the emotions to grow even more as the date gets closer,” she told People magazine.
Dion met her husband and manager Rene Angelil in 1980 when she was 12 and he was 38. They got married in 1994, and they both have three sons together: Rene-Charles, 14, and twins Eddy and Nelson, 4.