Along the Las Vegas strip, rumours have been rife about Celine Dion’s well being.
It’s a small city, and, for 15 years the Canadian songbird was its sequined queen as she warbled to tens of millions of followers.
After all, as Vegas journalist Scott Roeben stated of her legendary residency at Caesars Palace: “This is the house that Celine built.”
“People had been telling me for some time that Celine would not be returning to live to perform — maybe ever at all,” Roeben instructed Page Six.
Dion, who owes a lot of her estimated $470 million fortune to Vegas exhibits, put an finish to the gossip this week with an emotional video posted to social media. The singer introduced that she has been recognized with a neurological dysfunction generally known as stiff individual syndrome and shall be suspending or cancelling her exhibits.
“I’ve been dealing with problems with my health for a long time, and it’s been really difficult for me to face these challenges and to talk about everything that I’ve been going through,” she stated.
“Recently I have been diagnosed with a very rare neurological syndrome, which affects something like one in a million people,” she continued, explaining that the unwanted side effects have been brutal.
Dion, now 54, first introduced in October 2021 that she needed to postpone her new Las Vegas residency at Resorts World due to “severe” muscle spasms — only a month earlier than she was on account of take to the stage. Months later, she cancelled her North American tour and postponed her European tour.
Stiff individual syndrome causes rigidity and spasms within the trunk and limbs, in keeping with the Cleveland Clinic. Over time, leg muscle tissues change into stiff adopted by muscle tissues within the arms and face.
The Power of Love singer stated the situation has made it troublesome to stroll and has prevented her from singing the way in which she’s “used to”.
“All I know is singing,” she stated. “It’s what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I love to do the most.”
“When it’s Celine, it’s not what you do, it’s who you are,” Roeben stated of her love of performing. “To have it taken away, it’s even more tragic.
“My sources believe she may not be able to return to the stage. After that initial talk of struggling with muscle spasms, we started hearing about how serious things were, but Celine is the type of person who doesn’t want people to be unnecessarily concerned: Her fans are obsessed with every breath she takes. They hang on every word.”
Dion has made it no secret that she has struggled for the reason that lack of her husband and supervisor René Angélil, who died following a prolonged battle with throat most cancers in January 2016. As Dion has stated, he was the one man she ever kissed, and it was Angélil who helped her negotiate her first residency with Caesars in 2003. Since then her residencies have grossed $681.3 million, in keeping with AEG.
One insider who knew the couple instructed Page Six: “Since René died, it’s been very difficult. He hasn’t been there to protect Celine. He was her touchstone, he looked after everything for her. Celine relied on him for everything — her management, her finances, her music production — and things have gone downhill since his passing.
“I’m not sure exactly who she has in her corner looking after her anymore, or if they have her best interests at heart,” the insider stated, including: “It’s true — she may not ever be able to perform live again.”
As Page Six revealed in 2019, there have been fears {that a} new crowd of buddies, together with “best friend” and former backup dancer Pepe Muñoz, had an excessive amount of management over Dion.
“Pepe is like her boy toy who is really trying to take over. He’s isolating her and people are feeling it. She’s in love with this guy and listens to everything he’s saying. People go to him when they have questions. He’s fully taken over. The only people around her now [are] Pepe, the hairdresser, and the stylist,” stated a supply on the time.
Muñoz, who’s married to artist Brayden Newby, has not posted any current photographs of Dion on his Instagram account and was unavailable for remark.
Dion met Angélil in 1980 of their native Quebec, Canada. The music supervisor, who was 38 and married with three youngsters, gave up all his different acts and remortgaged his home to show Dion, then 12 years outdated, right into a star.
The couple began secretly relationship when Dion was 19 and Angélil was 45. After years of preserving their love underneath wraps, Dion revealed the romance within the liner notes of her 1993 album, “The Colour of My Love,” writing: “René, for so many years I’ve kept our special dream locked away inside my heart. But now it’s too powerful to keep inside’.”
The couple wed in December 1994 with a lavish ceremony on the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal that was broadcast dwell on Canadian TV.
It was the primary marriage for Dion and the third for Angélil, who was beforehand wed twice. Their son René-Charles was born in January 2001 after fertility remedies. Following six rounds of IVF, Dion gave start to twin sons Nelson and Eddy in October 2010.
Angélil was first recognized with throat most cancers in 1999 and Dion took a two-year hiatus from performing to look after her husband.
After having a tumour faraway from his throat in December 2013, Angélil was recognized with most cancers as soon as once more in 2014. Once once more, Dion additionally stepped again from her profession as a way to deal with caring for him.
“I’ll say, ‘You’re scared? I understand. Talk to me about it,’ ” the singer stated. “And René says to me, ‘I want to die in your arms.’ Okay, fine, I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms.” Angélil died on Jan. 14, 2016, simply two days earlier than his 74th birthday.
The singer has stated her biggest delight stays her youngsters however admitted she had struggled with René-Charles, now a rapper and DJ who goes by the stage identify Big Tip.
“If you say no to so many things they will turn around and they will still do them away from you, which is even scarier,” she instructed The Sun. “The girls are coming now — something to be stressed about. I am giving him more space. He does stuff sometimes, I have to say I don’t necessarily agree with what he chooses to try. But as long as he’s using his intelligence and his brain, I trust him.”
She added, nonetheless, “I know he’s well taken care of above — his dad is sending him good energy.”
Since her husband’s demise, it’s been unclear to whom Dion might flip. Muñoz, 38, was pictured by her facet as she embraced a brand new high-fashion picture, turning to designers together with Valentino. “Yeah, there’s another man in my life but not THE man in my life”, she instructed The Sun in 2019.
Dion was additionally conscious of concern for her well being amongst devoted followers on account of her important weight reduction. She put it right down to ballet classes 4 instances per week and coaching with Muñoz, telling ABC News in 2019: “It’s true that I’m a little thinner. Everything’s fine, nothing’s wrong.”
Sources stated, nonetheless, that the singer continues to battle with out her husband.
She isn’t seen out and about in Vegas, the place she lives after promoting a $45 million mansion in Florida in addition to her Montreal residence.
Roeben stated that, a couple of years in the past, folks in Vegas would “spot Celine out and about with her entourage. But, for this very long stretch of time, nobody has shared even a paparazzi photo or a fan photo. She just kind of disappeared.”
The Grammy-award-winning star’s spring 2023 exhibits have now been pushed to 2024, and she or he cancelled eight deliberate summer time 2023 exhibits.
Meanwhile, “It’s All Coming Back to Me,” a romantic drama by which Dion is about to make her appearing debut, has been postponed from February to May 2023, a supply who is aware of Dion instructed Page Six.
The movie stars Priyanka Chopra Jonas as a lady struggling to maneuver on from the demise of her fiance, performed by Sam Heughan. Dion performs herself within the film, which additionally options her music.
“Celine said she will be unveiling new songs for the movie,” stated the supply of Dion. “But whether she does press or not for it [remains to be seen].”
Still, the supply added: “Celine is really tough. She’ll be OK.”
This article was initially printed by Page Six and reproduced with permission
Originally printed as Celine Dion insiders fear about who’s ‘looking after her’ amid well being disaster
