René Angélil, the husband of Celine Dion, has has passed away after a long battle with cancer. The 73-year-old music executive died peacefully in Las Vegas while his wife watched over him.
René leaves behind the three children he had with Celine Dion, René-Charles, 14, and four-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy, along with three grown up children from two previous marriages, Patrick, Jean Pierre and Anne Marie.
A statement released exclusively to People said: “Rene Angelil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer. The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment.”
René, who was a talented singer, began managing artists after his pop group The Baronets folded. He discovered Celine (who was 12 at the time), in 1980, mortgaging his house to finance her career so convinced was he that she would become a star.
After her husband was diagnosed with cancer for a second time in December 2013, Celine decided to take a year-long hiatus from her residency in Las Vegas to nurse him.
Opening up about how she was coping with her husband’s illness, Dion said they had spoken about his death. “I’ll say, ‘You’re scared? I understand. Talk to me about it,'” she told Hello. “And René says to me, ‘I want to die in your arms.’ OK, fine, I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms.”
