Céline Dion Shares How Her Three Sons Help Her Battle Stiff Person Syndrome: 'They Already Lost a Parent'

Céline Dion is staying strong for her sons. The 56-year-old singer continues to address her ongoing health battle with the rare autoimmune disorder, Stiff Person Syndrome, in a series of new interviews. 

Speaking with People for the magazine's latest cover story, Dion addresses the importance of her role as the sole living parent to 23-year-old René-Charles and 13-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy following the 2016 death of her husband, their father, René Angélil to throat cancer. 

"I barely could walk at one point, and I was missing very much living. My kids started to notice. I was like, 'OK, they already lost a parent. I don't want them to be scared,'" Dion tells People. "I let them know, 'You lost your dad, [but] mom has a condition and it's different. I'm not going to die. It's something that I'm going to learn to live with."

In a separate interview with Hoda Kotb, which will air in full on Tuesday during a primetime special for NBC, Dion promises to keep moving forward and performing for her fans. 

"I’m going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl. Even if I have to talk with my hands, I will," she says in a new preview that aired Tuesday morning on Today. "I am Céline Dion, because today my voice will be heard for the first time, not just because I have to, or because I need to. It's because I want to and I miss it."

Dion publicly shared her diagnosis for the first time in December 2022, telling fans how the condition's muscle spasms impacts her singing and daily life and how she would not be able to go on her European tour. 

Dion has more recently emerged back in the spotlight, stepping out onto the 2024 GRAMMYs stage in February along with her eldest son to present the award for Album of the Year to Taylor Swift. She has also made a handful of appearances enjoying events including a hockey game and a Rolling Stones concert with her younger twins. 

She is expected to give audiences a deeper look inside what she's been enduring with the release of her upcoming Prime Video docuseries, I Am: Celine Dion. Helmed by Academy Award-nominated director Irene Taylor, the doc begins streaming globally on June 25.  

Dion's full interview with Kotb for NBC Nightly News airs Tuesday, June 11 at 10 p.m. PT/ET. The singer's People cover story hits newsstands days later on Friday, June 14. 

She previously graced the cover of Vogue France for its May issue, saying, "Today, I'm a woman who is feeling strong and positive about the future. One day at a time."

RELATED CONTENT: