Look Back at Céline Dion and René Angélil's Love Story in Photos on What Would Have Been Their 30th Anniversary

12/17/2024 08:30 AM

Céline Dion and her late husband René Angelil were deeply in love during their decades together. Look back at their marriage on their wedding date

Together 21 years, Céline Dion and her husband René Angélil went through some trials and tribulations throughout their marriage, but through it all, the couple managed to stay close.

Céline Dion married René Angélil on Dec. 17, 1994. The two met when she auditioned for him at age 12 and went on their first official date at 19; Dion admitted that she kept their relationship private initially because she was apprehensive about public opinion, but they later went public years after they were already engaged. "When I was at the age to be able to say to people [we were together] ... It was like bang! Love! Love always wins," she wrote in her memoir.

Throughout their two decades of marriage together, the couple faced many obstacles, including cancer and infertility, but their love remained strong. They welcomed sons René-Charles, 23 and twins Nelson and Eddy, 14, together before René died of throat cancer in 2016.

Look back at Céline Dion and René Angelil's happy marriage in photos.

Céline Dion and Rene Angelil First Meet

After Céline Dion's brother found manager René Angélil's name on the back of French Canadian singer Ginette Reno's record, he sent him a recording of his sister's first original song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve." Hearing it prompted Angélil to invite Dion to audition for him in person — their first meeting.

"While I was singing he started to cry," Dion recalled to PEOPLE years later. "I knew then I had done a good job."

Rene Angélil Bets on Céline

After hearing her vocal chops in person, Angélil knew he wanted to turn Dion into a star. And he took drastic measures to ensure it would happen: He famously mortgaged his home to fund her first record.

Céline Dion Becomes a Superstar

Angélil's belief in Dion's vocals wasn't unfounded: That first record, La Voix du bon Dieu, became a chart-topping hit in Québec and set the singer on her path toward stardom in her home province (though she was still relatively unknown in America). In 1987, when Dion was 19 years old, she and Angélil went on their first official date, though she later admitted that their relationship had turned romantic the year before.

Céline Dion Breaks Through

With the help of manager Angélil, Dion made her debut in the English-speaking market with the album Unison.

Céline Dion Goes Worldwide

Unison had a 1990 release date, but it was 1991 that truly sent Dion to international stardom, when she lent her voice to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack, dueting with Peabo Bryson on the film's title song. It was a big year for Dion and Angélil, too: Despite the fact their relationship was still a secret to the general public, the two became engaged.

Céline Dion and René Angélil Go Public

Two years into their engagement, Dion and Angélil still hadn't gone public with their relationship. "I was afraid of what people would think," she told PEOPLE in 1994. But eventually, the desire to share her love for Angélil with the world triumphed: "When you're in love, you want to scream it to the world," she explained.

Céline Dion and René Angélil Get Hitched!

The two married on Dec. 17, in an extravagant ceremony at Montréal's Notre-Dame Basilica.

Angélil Is Diagnosed with Cancer

In 1998, Angélil was diagnosed with throat cancer. The news, coupled with a demanding few years career-wise, led Dion to take a hiatus to focus on her personal life and to care for her husband.

Angélil Is Cancer Free

After Angélil was declared cancer-free in 2000, the couple celebrated with a vow renewal in Vegas. Of her Arabian Nights-themed affair, Dion said: "It's almost like a show, and we're show business people."

Céline and Angélil Become Parents

After undergoing fertility treatments, Dion gave birth to son René Charles, the couple's first child, on Jan. 25.

Céline Dion Hits the Road

Ending her multi-year break from music, Dion released a new album, A New Day Has Come. Soon after, she announced her residency at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The first leg of that residency lasted for five years, until 2007.

Céline Dion and René Angélil Welcome Twins!

After undergoing multiple rounds of IVF, in May 2010, Dion and Angélil announced they were expecting twins. Nelson, named for South African President Nelson Mandela, and Eddy, named for Edd Marnay, a French songwriter who produced Dion's first five albums, arrived on Oct. 23.

Angélil's Cancer Comes Back

Returning to her dressing room after a rehearsal for The Voice, Dion heard the worst news: Her husband had just learned his cancer was back. So in 2014, the singer put her career on hold to care for Angélil, who stepped down from his longtime post as her manager that June.

Celine Dion Speaks About Caring for Her Husband

In August 2015, the singer resumed her residency at Caesars Palace. Dion spoke of her husband's illness and preparing for his death in an interview with USA TODAY. "My biggest job is to tell my husband, we're fine. I'll take care of our kids. You'll watch us from another spot," she said. "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.' Okay, fine, I'll be there, you'll die in my arms."

René Angélil Dies

Four months into her residency, René Angélil died on Jan. 14, 2016, just two days before what would have been his 74th birthday.

"René Angélil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer," a his rep said in a statement. "The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment."

Celine Dion Returns to the Stage

A month after laying René to rest, Celine returned to the Colosseum and resumed her residency.

The singer opened with a tribute concert which featured a slideshow of family photos as well as René's TV appearances, and these words: "I understood that my career was in a way his masterpiece, his song, his symphony. The idea of leaving it unfinished would have hurt him terribly. I realized that if he ever left us, I would have to continue without him, for him."

Celine Dion Finds a Silver Lining

Two days after the death of her husband, Celine also lost her older brother Daniel Dion who died of brain, throat and tongue cancer in Montreal. He was 59.

Despite being shaken by the terrible series of events, Dion found a silver lining, telling PEOPLE in 2016, "René escorted my brother. It was perfect."

Celine Dion Goes On

The singer revealed she found a way to keep René's spirit present in her life.

"I shake my husband's hand and knock on wood with him every night before every show," she said in an interview with the Daily Telegraph's magazine Stellar in 2018. "Even after he's gone, I still talk to him."

She also revealed she made sure the seat he occupied behind the sound mixing desk remained empty at each show when she performed her residency at Las Vegas' Caesars Palace.

"He taught me so much. He did a great job; what he had been giving to me all his life and all my life will always be with me," Dion said.

"He gave me his all. He mortgaged his house to pay for my first album. I guess before he left he wanted to make sure I was fine. I'm trying to prove to him every day I'm fine. Our kids are growing, we feel strong. We're good."

Céline Dion Remembers Her Husband

On the sixth anniversary of his death in 2022, Celine posted a heartwarming tribute to René on her Instagram, writing, "I would be lying if I said I'm fine, I think of you at least a hundred times, cause in the echo of my voice I hear your words just like you're there… I miss you."

Céline and René Forever

Eight years after his death, Angelil's spirit is still very much present in the lives of Céline and their kids.

"I'm still married to René. He's still my husband. When we have to travel to my treatments to see my doctors, I always bring pictures [of him]," says Dion, referring to treatments of stiff person syndrome, which she was diagnosed with in 2022.

"And we have pictures, of course, all over the place in the house."