In a poignant revelation, Canadian singer Celine Dion disclosed that she had been secretly battling stiff person syndrome for 17 years before publicly acknowledging her condition.
The 56-year-old songstress initially shared her diagnosis with the rare autoimmune neurological disorder in 2022.
However, in a recent preview for an upcoming interview with Today Show host Hoda Kotb, Dion detailed the lengthy period she spent managing the condition in silence.
The celebrated artist opened up about the immense burden of concealing her illness from her fans, the very people she credits for her success.
“It felt like I had to act like a hero while secretly feeling like my body was leaving me,” Dion expressed, shedding light on the emotional toll of her secret struggle.
In the teaser for the upcoming full interview set to air on Tuesday, Dion recounted her initial realization that something was amiss with her health.
Despite noticing symptoms, she didn’t prioritize figuring out what was wrong. This period coincided with her husband René Angélil’s battle with throat cancer, which he succumbed to in 2016.
“We did not know what was going on [with me],” Dion shared. “I did not take the time… I should have stopped, took the time to figure it out. And like it wasn’t enough, my husband as well is fighting for his own life.”
After Angélil’s passing, Dion faced the daunting task of balancing her career, raising their children—René-Charles, now 23, and twins Nelson and Eddy, now 13—while keeping her deteriorating health a secret.
“I had to raise my kids, I had to hide, I had to try to be a hero—while feeling my body leaving me,” she continued. “[I was] holding on to my own dreams.”
Eventually, the weight of maintaining this facade became unbearable.
Dion admitted that “lying for me was… The burden was too much. Lying to the people who got me to where I am today, I could not do it anymore.”
This sentiment was echoed by host Hoda Kotb, who remarked, “Not telling the truth was too much to carry,” to which Dion replied, “I could not do this anymore.”
Despite her prolonged battle with stiff person syndrome, Dion continued to perform until 2022, when she publicly announced her diagnosis and subsequently canceled all upcoming shows.
Her revelation has cast a new light on the resilience and strength she demonstrated throughout her career, even as she privately faced such significant health challenges.
