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Céline Dion’s Stunning Balloon Release Ceremony To Explain René Angélil’s Death To Their Children

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 15:20 PST, May 26, 2016

Céline Dion was shattered when her beloved husband René Angélil passed away earlier this year. Rene Angélil was Céline Dion’s longtime manager and her husband of 21 years, who she readily credited as being responsible for shaping her musical career, especially in her early years.

He had battled three separate bouts of cancer after being diagnosed with the disease for the first time in 1999. In 2014, Rene’s throat cancer resurfaced again and this time, it would be a losing battle. To add to her grievance, Céline Dion lost her brother Daniel Dion to the very disease that had claimed her husband, just a matter of days after her husband passed away. And even though Céline Dion’s sorrow knew no bounds, she picked herself up by taking solace in her three children, her fifteen-year-old son René-Charles and the five-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy.

And when it came to breaking the news of their father’s death, Céline Dion found it hard to reveal the harsh fact to the five-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy Angelil, who were too young to fathom the tragedy that had befallen the family. With the aim of breaking the news in a way that would be easier for the younger children to understand, Céline used as an example the 2009 Disney-Pixar movie Up, which is about 78-year-old Carl who sets out to fulfill his dream to see the wilds of South America by tying thousands of balloons to his home.

So, according to Us Magazine, Céline threw the children a glitter and balloon-filled party to communicate the sensitive fact that their “papa” had “gone up,” floating away on balloons, never to return: similar to the characters of the Disney movie. Us Magazine reports that Céline Dion then brought her boys outside, where they released balloons into the sky to bid farewell to their father.

According to People, Céline never wanted her husband’s doctors to communicate the news of Rene’s death to her children, as the kids were not at all aware about the concept of death.

Céline herself wanted to ease them into the concept so that they could gather the strength to accept the tragic reality herself. In particular, Céline Dion found it difficult to come to terms with Rene’s death as she saw her husband in her children.

Us Magazine reported that, recalling her last moments with her dying husband, Céline spoke about how she comforted Rene, who was worrying about his wife and children even on his deathbed. Her last words to Renee were very soothing and comforting.

“The kids are fine. I’m fine. I promise you we’re gonna be OK. Please leave in peace. I don’t want you to worry.”

Céline Dion’s courage has clearly impressed the media, with many journalists claiming that they did not expect the legend to garner her courage and return back to her Las Vegas residency so soon. In fact, Marie-Claude Barrette, the reporter from Montreal Network, felt that it was an honor for her to cover Céline Dion’s first interview after her return to the residency at Caesar’s Palace. Céline Dion had taken a break from her residency after the deaths of her husband and brother, Rene Angelil and Daniel Dion. According to Hello Magazine, returning back to the residency was painful for the “My Heart Will Go On” singer as she couldn’t imagine performing without having Rene in the audience.

Rene had never missed a single show of hers, and Céline had always been confident that he would be there in the audience, backstage, or in the balcony. However, she amazed everyone by gathered the strength to carry on with her residency, simply because it was Rene’s dream to let the show go on.

In her interview with Hello Magazine, Céline painfully remembered shows when audiences thought that her eyes were searching for Rene in the audience. However, she said that she never needs to search for him because every time she closes her eyes she can feel his presence.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]

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