Celine Dion and René Angélil weren’t just attracted to each other, they were deeply in love. The two decided to get married on December 17, 1994, after coming out as a couple back in 1992. They quickly went from a secret couple that only five other people, including Céline’s mother, knew about, to having one of the most televised and publicly discussed relationships in the entire entertainment industry.
Their marriage ceremony was conducted at Montreal’s Notre-Dame Basilica and was broadcasted on live national TV. The wedding was highly luxurious and featured many celebrities, as-well-as friends and family. The two went through the entire religious process, including holding the candles while wearing crowns. They were still facing some public criticism even during the wedding ceremony, but public opinion eventually turned around when everyone saw that the two were truly in love with each other.
She Lost Her Voice Just Before the US Tour
Mere months before her United States tour, Céline was doing a show celebrating her Incognito album when she suddenly injured her voice. She went to see an otorhinolaryngologist named William Gold who explained to her that she was suffering from laryngitis, a condition that causes inflammation of the voice box. This was on top of her general fatigue from not being used to performing so much. Céline’s schedule was packed with shows but the young singer still didn't know how to train and control her voice to prevent injuries.
Celine's doctor gave her two options: either have immediate vocal cord surgery to let her keep using her voice, or take a three-week break from singing and let her inflammation subside. Dion decided to take a break and began to take vocal training with William Riley. The vocal training was a success and the singer found herself back at peak condition, now armed with the knowledge of how to properly use her voice in a way that doesn't cause strain and inflammation. Up next, things get romantically charged between Céline Dion and her manager, René Angélil. How did the controversial romance begin and where did it all lead to?
Controversy Over the Age Gap
Both René Angélil and Céline Dion knew that the public would not be immediately understanding of their romantic relationship. It was clear to them that the twenty-six year age gap was not a small deal, especially considering that the singer wasn’t even twenty years old yet. Show business is a very lucrative industry and tends to attract predatory type men who end up taking advantage of young women who want to make it big, sometimes even underage girls. The couple knew that it might appear as-if they began dating before it was legal to do so, as they originally started working together when Céline was just 12. They both decided that it would be best to just come out publicly instead of hiding it, especially since they had nothing to be ashamed of.
This was the beginning of a beautiful and blossoming relationship that would end up lasting until the last day of René’s life. Céline said in her autobiography, My Story, My Dream, that she was already in love with the manager from a very young age. He was also romantically attracted to her, but refused to do anything sexual before she was already a woman. Her mother was initially worried about the relationship, but the singer told her "I'm not a minor. This is a free country. No one has the right to prevent me from loving whoever I want to." She eventually revealed her relationship with René in a tearful 1992 interview with journalist Lise Payette.
Céline Dion’s Royal Dress
Céline Dion's wedding dress was hand made by Mirella and Steve Gentile and reportedly took more than 1,000 hours to make. This wedding dress is considered by many to be one of the best looking wedding dresses of all time. It had a twenty-foot train and was decorated with a seven-pound tiara made of over 2,000 Austrian crystals.
It's reported that the dress cost anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000 to make. Many people have criticized the wedding dress as being too extravagant, especially when considering the singer's more modest personality and style of singing.
She Was a Natural Business Leader and Entrepenéur
Outside of her extremely successful business career, Céline Dion had one of the most successful business careers of any singer in the world, second only to titans like Jay Z and Dr. Dre. She had various business dealings throughout her career, including owning an artist management company, a restaurant food chain named Nickels, a golf club called the Le Mirage, a restaurant named Schwartz' in Quebec, and much more. She even opened a popular nightclub called Pure in association with Andre Agassi, Steffi Graf, and the legendary NBA player Shaquille O'Neal.
Her line of perfumes, simply called Céline Dion Perfume, grossed over $850 million to date. As you can clearly see by these examples, she was not a woman to take lightly, as her business acumen helped her secure a net worth of over $700 million by the age of 50. Although many of her fans know her as the charismatic and passionate singer that she is, there's a seriously cool side to her that is probably only seen behind closed doors by people in suits and briefcases. Can we just say that Céline pulls off an incredibly alluring look when she’s in a suit?