In 2003 Céline Dion signed a contract to perform at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for a staggering sum: $100 million. She was a resounding sensation, though René found himself under unwelcome scrutiny. Angélil was accused of sexual assault. He eventually paid the woman $2 million to settle the case; he claimed the money was not an admission of wrongdoing, but rather to avoid negative publicity that might upset his wife. Another unwelcome spotlight was directed on him when the London-based newspaper The Observer wrote, “Céline Dion’s husband is a big gambler. He probably gambles $1 million a week, but he can afford to.” Yet despite her fame and his infamy, the couple always maintained a united, and devoted, front.
At the end of 1999, Dion bid a farewell to the spotlight in Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, where she planned on a hiatus, although she was a self-confessed stress junkie. She needed to concentrate on looking after the man who had spent his life looking after her: René had been diagnosed with neck cancer. His prayer was “In Allah Rad” (“By the grace of God”). Her final concert, dedicated to her husband, closed with her mother’s song, “It Was Only a Dream.” At the stroke of midnight, René came onstage and the two kissed for a very long time.
Five days later, Caesar’s Palace was transformed into Céline’s Palace when the couple renewed their marriage vows in an over-the-top gala, whose Arabian-inspired theme (replete with camels) was in tribute to René. In her autobiography, My Story, My Dream, she wrote, “René was a resounding success in the role of Grand Vizier; I was Scheherazade.” Five months later, they received news that René’s cancer was in remission and Céline was pregnant. René Charles, the baby for whom they had long prayed, was born in 2001. (Nine years and six fertility attempts later, Celine became pregnant with twins.)
Looking back at her Cinderella story, Celine must sometimes think “Ce n’était qu’un rêve” (“It Was Only a Dream”).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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And the Rest Is History Page 19