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René Angélil is the longtime husband of Celine Dion. The two have been married since 1994, making them one of the longest married Hollywood couples today, having been married for 20 years. Read on for the facts on René’s cancer, how the couple first met, and the details on their lives together.
1. Celine Dion Has Postponed Her Tour Due to René’s Ailing Health
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Celine Dion has been fighting inflammation of her throat muscles, but that’s not why she’s cancelled a ton of her concerts. According to People:
Céline Dion has postponed her Las Vegas residency, canceled her Asia tour and postponed all of her show business activities indefinitely because of her husband’s ongoing health issues. René Angélil had a tumor removed from his throat last December, and his illness has caused “a very difficult and stressful time.”
Because of the situation with her husband, Celine has released a statement to People explaining the goings on:
I want to devote every ounce of my strength and energy to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children. I also want to apologize to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support.
René previously appeared in the video for Simple Plan’s “Save You” as a cancer survivor, though his cancer returned and was successfully removed in December. However, it sounds as if the cancer may have returned.
Celine puts show business career on hold for her health and family reasons. More details on http://t.co/oKjPk7oxrK. -TeamCeline
— Celine Dion (@celinedion) August 13, 2014
2. René Angélil Met Celine When She Was 12 Years Old
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René Angélil, 72, and Celine Dion, 46, met when Celine was just 12 years old and René listened to her demo tape. Because of their large age gap, there was a lot of chatter when they first got together. Prior to marrying Celine Dion, René married Denyse Duquette and Manon Kirouac.
3. He Was Caught Up in a False Rape Scandal
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In 2000, René was accused by Yun Kyeong Kwon Sung of sexual assault at a hotel in Las Vegas. Wikipedia reports:
These charges were later investigated by Las Vegas police. Although Angélil eventually paid $2 million to settle, Angélil never admitted to doing anything wrong, always maintaining the settlement was to avoid negative publicity that might upset his wife Celine.
In 2003, Yun Kyeong Kwon Sung and her husband were arrested for trying to extort money from Angélil over a false rape claim and they were convicted in 2005. This wasn’t the end of it though. In 2008, the Nevada Supreme Court reversed both the convictions of husband and wife because the couple had not been allowed to submit evidence showing that the sexual assault actually happened. The Court did uphold the verdict for the charges of soliciting a bribe though.
4. René Is Known For His Gambling
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René is an avid poker player who qualified for and played in the 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, the 2007 Mirage Poker Showdown event on the World Poker Tour, and a series of high stakes tournaments. He’s been criticized in the media and joked about my many in regards to his gambling as Wikipedia writes:
He reportedly gambles upwards of $1 million a week at Caesar’s Palace, and keeps a line of credit for the same amount at Bellagio.
Even comedian Kathy Griffin joked about his gambling in her act.
5. The Couple Has Three Children Together
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Celine and her husband have three young children together, René-Charles, 13, and fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson, 3. The boys were named Eddy, after Eddy Marnay, who produced Dion’s first five albums, and Nelson, after Nelson Mandela.