For the first time since René Angélil‘s passing, his widow Celine Dion has spoken out about her last moments with him in an interview for People magazine.
Dion, 48, wasn’t present when her husband of 21 years passed away at their Las Vegas home, as she was performing at Caesars Palace (at Angélil’s insistence). But on the night before his death, the couple was on the phone exchanging their last “I love yous.”
“He said, ‘I wish you a great show, and I love you,'” she said.
READ MORE: Celine Dion “deeply touched” by support after René Angélil’s passing
When Dion came home after her performance, Angélil was asleep.
“I didn’t want to wake him,” she said. “I should have gone and said, ‘I love you and I’m here,’ but I don’t want to live with that regret. I meant well by not waking him.”
She awoke on the morning of Jan. 14 to Angélil’s medical caregivers, who gently let Dion know that the 73-year-old had lost his battle with throat cancer.
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As soon as she was able, Dion went to Angélil’s bedside, where he was still lying.
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“I closed the door, so the children wouldn’t sense anything,” she said. “I got on my knees and I kissed him. It was the coldest thing I’ve ever experienced in my life, but it was amazing. I said, ‘Promise me not to worry. I’m fine, the kids are great, we’re gonna be OK. It’s enough suffering. Just go in peace.'”
Dion insists she only wept when Angélil’s body was taken out of the home on a stretcher.
“When they took him away, I chased the truck a little,” she said. “Like it was my kids going to school for the first day.”
“René always insisted the show must go on,” she continued. “You know what, I’m 48 years old and I lost the love of my life. I miss him a lot from when he was great, but not when he was suffering. I cannot be selfish. You have to let people go. I feel at peace.”
READ MORE: René Angélil funeral cost $700,000, Quebec paying $50,000 of the bill
Angélil was Dion’s manager, mentor and singing coach since she was a teenager. The couple had three children together — René-Charles, 14, and five-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy.
Dion’s ongoing concert residency in Las Vegas is set to run until 2019.
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