Celine Dion remembers late husband René Angélil

Celine Dion spoke publicly for the first time about the death of her late husband, Rene Angelil, at a memorial honoring his life at Las Vegas’ The Colosseum at Caesars Palace on February 3. Angelil died at age 73 on January 14, after a long battle with throat cancer in the suburban Las Vegas home that he shared with Dion and their three children.

Born in Montreal to a Canadian mother and Syrian father, Angelil was a former singer-turned-manager who discovered a 12-year-old Dion and mortgaged his house to finance her first album. The My Heart Will Go On singer returned to Las Vegas for a memorial service on Wednesday and marked the moment with a throwback photo of the couple. She said it will be hard for all of them to go on without Rene.

“I feel his love in this room”, she said. I feel his strength and his warmth being reflected in all of you. Rene-Charles Angelil (L) and recording artist Celine Dion attend the State Funeral Service for Celine Dion’s Husband Rene Angelil at Notre-Dame Basilica on January 22, 2016 in Montreal, Canada.

In a message published in French on her website, Celine wrote: “We thank from the bottom of our heart all the people who have expressed their love for Rene during these trying times”.

It was towards the end of her speech that Celine became overcome with emotions, and let the tears flow as she concluded: “On behalf of my family, thank you again for being here with us this evening for this lovely tribute to Monday amour”.

“Thank you also to the Government of Quebec for holding a national funeral, as well as to the many individuals and organisations who worked to provide a final tribute to the height of the man he was”.