Celine Dion has kicked off her world tour, and is giving interviews to promote her new album which out in November. I love so much of what Celine says about being comfortable in her skin and confident. Monday, I wrote about the three new songs from Courage that she released. Celine visited the Today Show to talk about “new beginnings”:
Celine Dion is getting ready to release her first English album since the death of her husband and embark on a tour, but the singer said dating is the one thing she’s not ready to do yet.
“I don’t date. I’m not ready to date,” Dion, 51, told TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones in an exclusive interview that aired Wednesday. “I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me — they make me laugh.”
One of the most moving parts of the interview is when Celine talks about the last text message that she got from Rene:
“He called me before a show and give me a little message: ‘I love you,'” she said. “And when I came home that night, it was very, very late … And I didn’t want to come and wake him up to give him a kiss, to wake him up and then he can’t find sleep again. And the next morning, he was gone.
“So, we talked before. And he sent me a text message. So we said goodbye.”
Dion said she saved the message and still looks at it.
“But I am at peace, because I know that he doesn’t suffer,” she said. “And I know that, right now, the courage that I have, he has given it to me all my life.”
While Dion deeply feels Angélil’s presence in everything that she does, she said she misses having a partner.
“I miss to be touched. I miss to be hugged. I missed to be told, ‘You’re beautiful,’” Dion said. “I miss what a boyfriend and I miss what a husband would do.”
So, although she isn’t ready to date just yet, she isn’t ruling it out for the future. In fact, when it comes to romance, she isn’t ruling anything out — including the possibility of walking down the aisle again.
“I keep my soul and my heart open,” she said when asked about that. “Because I am so much (about) love, you know — with my fans and my children and my family. And I feel that love, and it keeps me going. But love, love, love, love, love — the true love, the romance, the romantic love — is not present. But it’s OK.”
I’m so glad for Celine that she has that text message from Rene. Even though we often know how certain people in our lives feel about us, when they are gone, it’s wonderful to have those concrete reminders. I have old voicemails saved because they are from people who are important to me, and though I’ve not listened to them lately, I’m happy to know that they are there, so that I can always hear a person’s voice if I need to. (In my case, the people are alive, but I don’t get to see them very often.)
I can also appreciate that Celine doesn’t want to date right now because of how deeply she loved (and loves) Rene. At the same time, it absolutely makes sense that she’d miss having a partner, and experiencing the gifts of that kind of relationship, like being held and called “beautiful,” and having that that loving presence in her life. It’s great that she’s open to falling in love again, but rather than focus on that is celebrating and enjoying the relationships that she does have: with her sons, other family, friends, and her fans. Her outlook is fantastic, and I bet she’s going to have a great time on tour.
Here’s Celine’s interview:
That is very touching. That need to be touched is normal but she should take as much time as she needs before she’s ready.
Money can’t buy you true love! I’m glad she’s counting her blessings. Celine is a genuine person and has my respect.
She seems like such a lovely person. I’m glad she has her children to comfort her.
i started crying reading this.
my phone was damaged and i lost the last few voicemails from my grandmother who i was very close with. it was weirdly comforting to have them and now they are gone.
Damn, Lizzie, is it possible to find one of those super tech genius to get it all back? I’m genuinely moved by your situation. 🙁
the employees at the towson town center apple store are saints and did everything technologically possible and were truly kind and patient with me. they did their best – made a ton of calls and continued to follow up for a few weeks and tried to retain the data on my phone and it just didn’t work. my cloud had an issue and a date range wasn’t backing up and those VMs were in that date range.
Oh, I’m so sorry. That’s a really hard thing to lose.
I have been to that apple store and they really are very nice there.
The only thing that bothers me is how much she highlights that true love = romantic love. It sound so much like “ok, friends and family are love, but not the real one”. This is not a critic to her, but the line itself.
I think that’s just a matter of her being a native French speaker…a nuanced meaning was lost in translation. True love vs romantic love – no. Love is love! This interview is so touching. Wishing Celine huge success on the tour, wish I could go!
The continuous romanticizing of her relationship with Rene gives me the creeps.
I’m glad someone said it. That man was, well “Svengali” is one way to put it, but whatever you call him, he preyed on an adolescent girl. Now, maybe ppl think that’s okay b/c he made her career possible and he married her and he was with her for the rest of his life etc. But what if he had just kept his hands off her? Or what if Dion had found a different manager, who *also* would have recognized her phenomenal talent and made her a star? And what if she was allowed to grow up without this much-older man attached to her always, and what if she had found someone to marry who was her age, and not widowed at arguably quite an early age? I know she loved him deeply, but also…he gave her no choice but to love him deeply. He made sure he was her only option in her formative years.
Celine was actually the one who pursued a relationship with Rene and he pretty much held her off until she was of legal age. She fell in love with him first and made it clear he was going to be her husband come hell or high water. He continued to manage her career and DID keep his hands off her until she was 19. Not sure where you’re getting your information but she is and always has been a very strong woman, from a young age. Nobody was going to “Svengali” her into anything she didn’t want to do. She knew from a young age that her voice was a gift and was going to give it all she had. Luckily she had a good partner to help her become the national treasure she is. I don’t know where you’re getting your information from (probably inside your head), but I’m Canadian and have been lucky enough to work in the entertainment business so I sort of have an insider’s knowledge of them both.
Pffffft. Celine should come out already. She has a long-term girlfriend. I find this interview ridiculous.
That’s just stupid. Show us the proof before you make idiotic comments like that.
@ Jaded : it’s hardly a secret that she has has a girlfriend for many years. It’s unfortunate that she doesn’t feel comfortable coming out. She’s an amazing woman and an amazing talent.
She keeps the French syntax in her English: I miss to be hugged…so cute.