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Celine Dion has always been a force to be reckoned with. Despite living with the rare disease Stiff Person Syndrome, the 56-year-old queen of power ballads provided rare insight into how she manages her condition during a recent interview with Vogue France. While recalling the early stages of her health journey, the “My Heart Will Go On” hitmaker admitted to asking herself if she was to blame for this.
“I have to learn to live with it now and stop questioning myself,” Celine told the publication in her interview that was published on Monday, April 22. “At the beginning I would ask myself: ‘Why me? How did this happen? What have I done? Is this my fault?’ Life doesn’t give you any answers. You just have to live it!”
While undergoing “athletic, physical and vocal therapy” five days a week, the Grammy Award winner explained, “I’ve chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be.”
She also set a goal for herself as she improves — “My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!” Celine added.
The last time the public saw her on a stage was this past February when Celine presented the Album of the Year Award at the 2024 Grammys to Taylor Swift. Since it’s been nearly five years since she’s performed live, the Canadian singer-songwriter answered when she thinks she will return to touring.
“I can’t answer that,” Celine clarified. “Because for four years, I’ve been saying to myself that I’m not going back, that I’m ready, that I’m not ready. As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months.’ I don’t know. My body will tell me.”
Despite living with Stiff Person Syndrome — a condition that causes muscle rigidity and spasms in addition to disability — Celine noted that being a famous musical icon has “made [her] want to never give up on anything.”
“I was born to communicate on stage, with my team, and with my voice, and with my fans,” the “Think Twice” artist said. “It’s about sharing. I was born to do that.”
As for what she’s up to now, Celine is living in Las Vegas with her children, René-Charles, Nelson and Eddy, whom she shares with her late husband, René Angélil, who died in 2016.
“I had a house in Florida, but as I was traveling a lot when I was touring, we didn’t go there anymore,” Celine pointed out. “I had a house in Montréal, but on holiday, the children wanted to go to the beach. I got a home in Las Vegas when my eldest son was one, 22 years ago today, and we have moved in here. I am 35 minutes away from work. That gives me the time to get ready to go to work. I can see my team, we joke around with each other, we rehearse singing. And then that gives me the chance to get on the road. I eat in the car, I get home, I see my children, and I can sleep in my own bed. I have the best of both worlds.”
