Céline Dion’s reps confirmed the death, and released this official statement: "It is with deep sadness that we announce that René Angélil, aged 73, died this morning at her residence in Las Vegas after a long and courageous fight against cancer. The family wishes to live the mourning in privacy. Other information you will be provided in the next few days." Angélil died just two days before his birthday. Dion and Angélil met when she was 12 and he was 38. The couple married in 1994; Angélil worked as Dion’s manager and mentor. They had three children together: Rene-Charles, 14, and two 5-year-old twins, Nelson and Eddy.
In August, Dion gave a candid interview to USA Today in which she revealed that the twin boys have no memory of their father as healthy, so they do not mind accompanying their mother to feed Angélil, while Rene-Charles found it difficult to see his father. She also said that she wished for her husband to die in her arms. Angélil, who had been sick with throat cancer for more than two years, and his wife were prepared for his death. Dion told USA Today, “I’ll say, ‘You’re scared? I understand. Talk to me about it.’ And René says to me, ‘I want to die in your arms.’ OK, fine, I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms.”
Dion also said that she felt it was her duty to be strong and continue to work, as Angélil did not want her to put her career on hold. “When you see someone who is fighting so hard, it has a big impact on you,” she said at the time. “You have two choices. You look at your husband who’s very sick and you can’t help, and it kills you. Or you look at your husband that’s sick and you say, ‘I got you. I got it. I’m here. It’s going to be just fine.’”
