Despite an iconic music career, Grammy-winning singer Celine Dion says being a mother is
her proudest achievement.
Following the death of her husband Rene in 2016, Dion's tightknit bond with her kids
has been increasingly in the spotlight.
Here are a few facts about the boys you may not have heard yet.
IVF journey
All three of Dion's sons—Rene-Charles and twins Nelson and Eddy—were conceived utilizing
in vitro fertilization.
Dion has been open about her struggle to conceive.
She received six IVF treatments before conceiving her twin boys in 2011.
One of those IVF cycles resulted in a miscarriage.
Just days before her twin boys were born, Dion also revealed in an interview with Quebec
TV that she was originally pregnant with triplets.
She told the Daily Mail,
"With any pregnancy, whether it's through IVF or not, you feel a danger.
You have to remain positive and try to relax as much as possible.
I always say that my children's first country is inside of me, so I try to make it a good
one and be healthy."
Name game
Speaking to Oprah Winfrey in 2011, Dion admitted she and husband René Angélil initially had
a tough time picking out names for their twin boys, born October 23rd, 2010.
In fact, at the hospital, they were simply known as Baby A and Baby B. But a week later,
the couple came to a compromise.
Dion told Oprah,
"The first thing that popped in my heart was Nelson because we had the privilege of meeting
with Mr. Nelson Mandela."
Eddy was named after another one of the couple's heroes: Eddy Marnay, who wrote Dion's first
five French albums.
Touching tribute
Rene-Charles—who goes by the nickname "RC"—made headlines in 2016 when he gave a touching
and emotional eulogy at the funeral for his father in Montreal.
It had many heartbreaking lines, including, "You are a tough act to follow, but with your
help, everything's gonna be fine.
Dad, I promise you that we're all going to live up to your standards."
Angelil, who worked as a music producer and also served as Dion's manager, died on January
14th, 2016, after a long battle with cancer.
Pixar assist
In the wake of her husband's death, Dion admitted she struggled to find a way to explain the
loss to her twin boys.
She found a gentle way to explain the situation by comparing it to one of her kids' favorite
Pixar movies ...
"Do you remember the movie Up?
It's one of our favorites."
"I said, 'Well, yeah.
Y'know, today, Papa went 'up.'"
Dion told People magazine the comparison is the thing she's "most proud of" regarding
how she broke the news to her boys.
"I did not want to relate the passing to doctors and have them be afraid."
"Up is a good thing.
Up is uplifting.
We're going to call this — We're going to celebrate right now because Papa is no more
in pain.'"
Tightknit twins
The death of Angelil has brought Dion closer to her twin boys.
In fact, Dion told the Sun in April 2017 that they all sleep in the same bed, saying,
"I organize myself to not feel lonely.
So I got myself a huge, huge, huge bed and I sleep with my twins.
[...] They are comforting me a lot.
I need them.
I need them close."
The situation, of course, remains temporary.
"When it's time for them to say they want their room, their room's ready."
Stand-up teen
Dion's hectic life as a working mother has its many stressful moments, but one thing
she doesn't have to worry about is dealing with an angsty, rebellious teenager at home.
She told Us Weekly in 2015 that RC is "a wonderful young man."
Like any good Canadian, RC has developed a love for playing hockey … and Dion has become
the most incredible hockey mom of all time.
In August 2017, she was videotaped dancing and clapping in the stands during one of RC's
hockey games near Montreal, where she also took the time to take selfies with fans.
Speaking to Extra in February 2017, Dion revealed that after Angelil died, she wanted to make
sure 16-year-old RC never felt like he had to fill his late father's shoes ...
"And I said to him that I never want him to feel the pressure that he's the man of the
house.
'No, you have your own dreams."
"Your father is not here but he's in your heart.
He's always going to be supporting you in a different way."
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