Céline Dion tragically lost her beloved husband René Angélil early in 2016 to a battle with throat cancer. In an unfortunate turn, she also lost her brother to cancer of the tongue, brain, and throat only a few days later. Dion performed her new single “Recovering” as a tribute to her loved ones in a televised concert for “Stand Up To Cancer”.
Prior to the performance, she admitted to the audience that she misses her husband every day, and explained that his absence has impacted her life. Dion’s father Adhémar also died of cancer in 2003, so his image was featured with her brother and husband on a screen behind Céline. At the end of the song, she broke down in tears when facing the images of her deceased loved ones.
Pop singer Pink originally wrote the song centered around the grief process, and offered it to Dion to use on her upcoming album. René Angélil entered Céline’s life at the age of 12 as he managed her singing career, but the relationship turned romantic when she turned 18.
The couple married at the end of 1994, and eventually conceived their first son, René-Charles, through in-vitro fertilization in 2001. They also welcomed twin boys, Eddy and Nelson, in late 2010. With such a long romantic history, it has been a difficult transition for Dion to move forward with her life without René by her side.