A few months ago, I commented and said society was not ready to call what Renée did grooming because they ended up married and Celinè Dion is successful. However, no one can convince me even if he waited for her to turn 18 what he did wasn't wrong. She was 13 and still a child.
Ugh, this is such a good point. The part at the end where she says the hardest part about losing him is having to make decisions for herself really shows how much control he had over her entire life, it's so sad. I have no doubt in my mind that he groomed her and kept her dependent on him.
This. And it's troubling because it's not just this case it is a wider societal view. Child marriage is still allowed in much of the US. If a girl is unmarried and preyed upon by an adult we all see it is r*pe, because we recognize that children aren't developmentally capable of consenting to an adult and that those interactions are harmful to children. Yet if the child is married it is somehow ok and the adult gets a free pass? The marriage hasn't changed anything. The kid is still developmentally the same, so why do people think it is less harmful to the young person because they got married?
I hate that a lot of people said she wasnt a pretty child. Her face was gorgeous. She has always been beautiful, justvas beautiful as the voice she possesses.
@theofficialBTC ..sorry, I disagree completely..Celine was NOT pretty at all...she looks better now due to corrections on her face.. Many Canadiens were shocked at how Celine was always with Renée, he had an eye and ear to know who could become a good singer...what is done is done..with her heath being so bad..she might never know a new love..
she is not beautiful except her eyes as it is with most people ~ that long long pointed chin ~ small very thin lipped mouth ~ long skinny face ~ even with make up it still shows ~
I think Renee was able to isolate Celine very well and he was probably able to alter the vision of him in her head. Most 12 year old would have made Renee a father figure in their head or another adult figure like an uncle , but if he was always careful to remind her “I’m your manager”, “I’m not your mom or dad or uncle, I’m your manger” that leaves space for a new role to be filled which opens the door to grooming.
@greerakual from the 1st day, i heard of his relatio ship with Céline at her young age i felt so 🤢 to think she been groomed, persuaded into a sexual relationship , later turning to a love affair I
@@99balloons71he seemed to hate when his previous singer perused love more than her career. He married one of women he managed the career Of but stated others shouldn’t cross personal and buiness. He crossed it two times and his second wife reminded me of Celine. He was quick to make exceptions for himself and he kept her isolated and he was a dominating non relative so Celine went for the illusion of love. They dated as soon as she turned 18, but that means he has feelings for her before she was 18, maybe 17, 16, 15….he knew and took advantage that she fell for him
From reading Celine's autobiography, I would tend to disagree. Celine already had a father, an incredibly close-knit family at that, and she also had a no-nonsense mother who was ever present, guiding her through her career alongside Renee. She also makes it clear that it was she who decided to pursue Renee after she turned 18 (he was unaware of her feelings), and is not only very open in how strong-willed she is, but how exactly she went about making him see her "differently" as an adult and potential romantic partner as opposed to a business partner.
@@greerakual I’m not one to accuse someone of something without facts. I can only go by Celine’s word, which are well documented in her biography. As a child, and even into her older teen years (I believe 19), she was never alone with Rene. Her mother or an older sibling was always around and her mother always traveled with them. When Rene had his second divorce, he actually took a break from managing her for like a year or 2…and went to the states. Also according to Celine, it was at the age of 21 when she made HER move on Rene. Prior to that, Rene avoided Celine when he discovered she had feelings for him. I believe because “grooming” is the new trending word, everyone wants to believe that because of their age difference, he “groomed her”, when according to Celine, Rene was checking for her in that way. Her family sought him out to manage her, which he did…she was very popular in Canada before she broke into then states in the early 1990’s. Celine knows her life better than anyone else, so I’m going to believe her instead of a brand new “fan” hopping on the latest bait story for some views and clicks.
She was isolated from her peers, insecure and faced great pressure by being the breadwinner for her entire family. She was a perfect candidate to groom and manipulate from the beginning. So disgusting that this isn’t discussed more often!
This was literally celine's dream, as well as her parents.. her parents are the one that took her around to clubs singing... and to finally take the tape to Mr Angelil.... so with your reasoning it was literally her parents that groomed her..
Her story is sad from the very beginning: look at her family, not very opened to the outside , not concerned about the fact that she missed school so often. I am a fan of her voice, music and even her person, I thnk she's fun but you have to admit that something's wrong in her story and René is not the only responsible.
I think one of the saddest parts of this is that she was absolutely distraught when he died. That iconic performance of "All By Myself" is branded in my mind. He clearly meant the world and more to her. But their relationship was established on an absolutely horrible foundation. All I can say is I hope Celine Dion is doing alright and has good family around her as she continues her life.
Also Ashes from Deadpool 2. If I recall correctly, it was recorded not long after Rene Angelil passed. The song’s amazing but it also hits differently with that in mind.
@@margueritetheron9667 not criticizing but looking at it objectively because many wanted to know if Rene groomed Celine. It was interesting because in a recent interview Celine was asked the question: how would she feel if her son dated someone much older like how Rene was older than her. She responded that she would not approve of it.
@@betheecommentator your video had painted Rene negatively right from the beginning imo. Not that it matters, but to me the man is dead. He can't defend himself anymore, they had a seemingly good life together and now she has only good things to say about her husband. Her children are her business. There are dark conspiracy rumours about Celine though, you might want to look them up
This was grooming in every sense possible. She was 12 when they met. He made her little girl dream come true... for a price. She was isolated from a normal teenage life, no exposure to kids her age. Put in a situation where there's financial pressure to support her family. He didn't make her finish school, didn't expose her to teenage experiences at all. He was controlling all her moves and surroundings. He very much wanted to be seen as a savior. What other role model did she have that seemed as powerful? Then the adult new look made him see her differently.... come on, he knew her inside and out before then. He exploited her adoration of what success they had. This was payback. His best friend went to jail for abusing another child star for years. He was fully supportive of his pedophile friend during trial and after sentencing. Grooming seems more acceptable when there's financial success around it. He molded her and made it look like it was her decision. Think about it, who made the first move to show the reality of the relationship had changed? He approached her once she was convinced that he was everything a man should be.... without any exposure to other men her age or dating any other. Maybe he just groomed her patiently.... but it is grooming in every aspect of the isolation, a teenager will have the impression they're in love when it's in fact a father figure... which he turned into intimacy with one move. He just knew the right moment to let her know she's a woman. Everything in her life is completely controlled by him, especially her feelings. He created a codependent relation that he fed the right elements to achieve what he wanted. She was an investment. Any adult isolating a child for all these years would be claimed a pedophile.
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your thoughts. This was a very thought provoking comment. You also made such valid points. Especially your comment regarding his friend Guy Cloutiers abuse is very telling.
Well stated. Since his death, she has been extremely thin and IMO, dressing in an odd manner. Have you seen any of her recent photos? It’s a sad situation.
Wow. This is absolutely insightful. I was also involved in a relationship that was abusive, traumatic, and predatory - and everything that you described made me feel like you were reading my diary. This is beautifully articulated!
And every young child who has an enormous talent should instead focus all energy there from a young age so by the time they reach maturity they are a master at their craft. No one can deny such young perfected talent, its almost guaranteed success !
I was obsessed with Celine in the late 90s/early 00s, and my parents were concerned I would want to emulate her. They knew it was grooming, and they were worried I would think it was cool. In Celine's words "never did, never will."
As a teen I always felt their marriage was a bit off to me. As an adult, I’m happy I’m not the only person who continues to feel this way. How unfortunate.
This is one of the most civil and insightful comment sections I’ve ever seen for video about a difficult, complicated topic. Kudos to you for your work and for the community you foster here online.
Oh wow thank you so much!! I really hope to create a community where we may not always agree but we can express our opinions and thought without hostility and toxicity. Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback!! Truly, thank you!! ❤️❤️
In my opinion, Renee put a ring on her finger so no one else could. I feel he loved the money and adulation she brought. It may be he was " in love " with time. She stated she was always around adults and I believe Renee made sure of it, as groomers often do.
There was definitely some power dynamics going on here, even with how he related to her parents and family. They said he was “the rich man who came in to save the day”
This is exactly it. She was too young and inexperienced to not interpret his investment in her, control over her and obsession with her success (i.e. his success) for anything but love. And whats unappealing for him about marrying a young beautifully transformed talented superstar as a much older man even if he wasn't organically in love? He had nothing to lose everything to gain AND secure by marrying her. And what could be said? He basically transformed her into that superstar so no one could argue he was "taking advantage or had devious intentions' lets be honest, she likely wouldnt be the Celine we know today if it weren't for his hand in her career... ofcourse she fell in love with him ..as the perfect storm of circumstances made it nearly impossible for her not to have, and any attempts at her progressing and socializing more normally were immediately thwarted. To this day you'd never be able to get her to see things any differently then the way she sees and she believes Rene' saw them. When you are dealing with object poverty, lack of education, impressionable age, parental pressure etc. That has a effect on the psyche in way that cannot be balanced when those variables are not in play. Celine didn't stand a chance. Now take all that off the table and if still all happened the way it did, then more power to them but I don't believe that would have been the case. Nevertheless, it's long since history now.
One thing that stands out to me is that when talking about falling in love with her, he said that he was now attracted to her after she had undergone a physical transformation. Not necessarily that she had matured, but that he found her more attractive. Btw, I absolutely love your channel! All your videos are so well done and interesting.
@@nicoleackerman205 it’s been speculated that he did. I couldn’t find an interview where he or Celine said that themselves but again it’s been alleged that he did pay for her transformation.
It’s so sad to hear her talk so negatively about the way she looked when she was younger. I find her so cute, happy, and captivating. I hope that everyone will try to remember that other people don’t see the flaws that you do when you look in the mirror, they see your spirit.
So many of us see ourselves as ugly ducklings when we are young. She got to grow out of that phase, got her teeth fixed, and married a man who adored her and accepted her just as she was.
Celine really believes her relationship with Renee was a fairytale. She was rip for this man to manipulate her. He really groomed her. He took advantage of her crush on him. At some point she believed that she could help a grown man go through a divorce. He nurtured her insecurities, about her looks. Its sad,one day she will understand that he was not the prince charming she believed him to be. She wants us to believe that she seduced him. I wish her well, because she has a beautiful voice. ♥
Yes Denise Henry. Another thing, how tragic that Celine could actually say what she did to the interviewer, that “school isn’t for everyone.” How tragic at her age to say that.
@@MTknitter22 Well, there's a difference between school and education. It is true that school might to be for everyone, as someone can struggle there for several reasons, like being neurodivergent, suffering bulling , et cetera .That doesn't mean that person can't or shouldn't get a proper education outside school.
that last quote alone, where she talks about how she's now going to have to make decisions for herself because Rene has passed... really chilling and it implies a lot about their dynamic, even after all these decades
I don't see anything wrong with that. I have the same fear. I'm 34 and my bf is 61. We have a son together, a house.. cars.. Like we're just like every other couple. Age gaps are the last taboo. Society will sooner accept people sleeping with their dogs before they do two of age people wanting to be together.
@AngelBabii_x0x but were you a preteen whose work constituted the livelihood of an adult man? I don't think there is much wrong inherently with age gaps (often, they don't work because there are disconnects in terms of experiences or goals) but this one was so rife for something weird to happen, what with the complete power imbalance between the two.
@@CrustyUgg was your bf an authority figure when you were still a developing child? Was your bf bestfriend , at the same time, sexually assaulting his own protégée, ending up in jail after decades of abuse? The only reason dude went to jail was because he lost his grip as he couldn't bring her to Celine's level. And shifted his focus to younger prettier victimes.
@@_Julie_Bee to a lot of people it doesn't matter. When I've told people that my boyfriend is basically twice my age, they still don't think it's OK even though we met when I was in my late 20s and more than capable of making decisions about who I want to be with. With all the things that people consider to be normal, nowadays age gap, relationships are the last taboo.
@@CrustyUgg I'm 10 yrs older than my son's father. He was an adult, ppl made jokes but in the end, the age gap did make a difference in maturity. He turned out being so insecure that I've endured 7 years of domestic violence, and almost died. Tho I truly believe that as we age, the gap becomes less and less an issue, there are several milestones that one needs to go thru in order to be a balanced adult.
I was just talking about Celine and her husband to my 15 year old. We were talking about grooming. I told her I’d find an article about it but this video popped up! I love it when things work out.
Nothing like preparing your daughter for victimhood, indoctrinating her that everyones a predator and raising her to distrust her own judgement. If you did everything else right you wouldn’t need to be showing her that kind of videos because she’d know for herself when something is wrong.
When hearing," School is not for everybody." from Celine, makes my heart flutter. Many kids have learning disabilities and hearing her say that probably was just that. It's like saying tieing your shoes is not for everybody. Education is part of childhood developments and is very important. Edit. This is for all the people who will read more into this than what I stated. School, homeschooling, tutoring, etc, can affect a child's development and basically she had none of the 3 mentioned. This is what I was saying. I did not say homeschooling is terrible or it can't contribute to education. My goodness, we all need education in some type of way to develop to know how to function socially and more. Please don't make this comment about traditional schooling vs homeschooling or tutoring. Please don't
That was exactly what I thought, especially talking about how hard it was to lose the stimulation of being in her home and not being able to follow along in class, it just breaks my heart. I don’t begrudge her any success but she was definitely exploited by her “support” system
* School IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY. The traditional school system doesn’t work for a lot of people including myself and my son. I quit after a few months of 9th grade. I figured out it was mostly a popularity contest for teachers and the kids alike. Not to mention doing the work only consisted of making each individual teacher happy. What a waste of time! Got my GED went straight to work for an attorney as a receptionist/runner and learned more practical knowledge working in the Law field than I could’ve ever learned in high school. There are family schools now-a-days where families go to school 1/2 days, 4 days a week, all in the same classroom and each age are taught at their own pace. The idea is everyone learns from each other. So when they are not in class for 1/2 the day they are able to help each other with homework at home. I love this arrangement especially in large families when the parent doesn’t have a lot of time to spend individually helping each child with homework. This can also be a start to helping parents learn along with their children if desired. \ This could’ve been the perfect type of education for Ms. Celine because she would still be around her support system, which is the family she loved! ❤️
Honestly I thought the same thing. It's like she's emotionally stunted as a teenager. Justifying her parents bad decisions to let her down. Yeah school is hard for lots of us, but you can't stop every time something is hard. This seems so dysfunctional.
It’s hard to hear a person with such a God given talent to say that school is not as important than working on a career. In order to be good at music, you must learn how to read music. Usually that means school. Everyday math skills. You learn not to be taken for a ride by Nefarious people, by learning Math. To learn Math properly. Means School. You must know how to read. Who else is going to make sure the contracts are legitimate if YOU don’t read them. You learn how in SCHOOL! You get the picture… She got lucky that he was able to manage her to a successful career. Apparently she didn’t need to be educated to become rich. NOT EVERYONE IS SO LUCKY! She influences millions of young people all around the world. She should be telling them that education is the key to being a success no matter what you want to do or be. A Degree (high school or college), is the key to opening many doors!!
@@abqjewel5055 that is you and you and SOME are exceptions but for the most, school helps develop social skills, which is a part of childhood developments, it introduces play and other childhood skills people need. Education is the bigger issue here She was uneducated and even if she didn't go to school, she could've been homeschooled.
My first boyfriend was twice my age when we got together, and started negging me immediately. He was thrice-divorced and I was a virgin. He was very controlling. It took me several attempts to leave him, finally moving hundreds of miles to attend massage school, and that gave me enough distance to feel a little safer.
He got a divorce from his wife when Celine was 17 years old. He was with Celine all the time, traveling and managing her career. Renee knew that if he did not move fast, he might lose Celine to another man, and his position as her manager could end. He did NOT want to lose that much money. He found a superstar, and if he lost her, he would return to a mediocre life. I see him as a money-hungry man for the most part.
They were all in a co-dependent relationship with each other. The parents: desperate to get out of poverty and have their daughter live their dreams. Céline: desperate to make it big and leave a life, not only of poverty, but of being an outcast. Réné: wanting to make it big at all costs. Under such circumstances, and especially for a young, naive, girl, it's easy to "fall in love" and for him, easy to fall in love when this is your ticket to the big time. I think their vision of the "big time" and their personal feelings were highly emmeshed.
His wife also helped Celine learn how to dress and present herself professionally. She gave up her tv job to help her husband with Celine. Then he divorces her to Pursue a child. What a slap in the face.
@@raimeyewens7518 That is terrible! Also, he had two children with his wife - a girl and a boy - He left them, too, as it looks. He had the boys with Celine and only paid attention to them. I never heard anything about him visiting his two kids. That is even worse - I am sure those kids got hurt by that. How far some people will go for money. So sad.
Another excellent video! I'm Celine's age & Renè is my Dad's age, so I was always a little creeped out by the age difference. If he had met her when she was 18 that might have made a difference but she was just so young. Others mentioned grooming, and I agree. He definitely had what seems like complete control over her starting at 12 or 13 years old. I totally understand her mom being very upset by their relationship.
@@christineperez7562 it doesn’t matter. He met & began working with her when she was 12. That’s the part that’s disturbing. Not to mention that he was a known womanizer, so he was not innocent by any means.
Excellent point. My husband is the same age as my birthmother but that is because my BM fell for a man who was grooming her. She was 13, he was over 18. He convinced her the only way for them to spend a life together was for her to get pregnant. Yet when that happened he took off, ran for the hills and disappeared. When I was 45 my BM was happy to finally meet me. She was never told what gender I was. She suffered a great deal of trauma. The result of a DNA test caused my sperm donor/BF's niece to contact me. She was confused as the DNA said she was my 1st cousin yet her uncle swore he had never gotten any girl pregnant aside from his current wife. He was a liar from the beginning and is still causing problems in his current family.
@@gypsysoul5513I found the part where his 2nd wife was a singer and it sounded like he mixed pleasure with business too often. He neglected his 2nd wife after all she did for him. That’s sad, I’m surprised at his ex wife’s allegations of assault, if true then I doubt he would stray from that behavior and would definitely explain more of dion’s parents concerns
I’m happy this is finally being more talked about. I’ve said this time and time again and I’ve always received the “love is love” or “they were soulmates” bs. The facts show that this is textbook grooming, and sadly, Celine will die thinking that it’s true love. This is why we need to have these conversations so that this doesn’t happen to other young girls and boys.
It’s sad that she states how she was a unwanted and unplanned pregnancy. That would of reduced her self confidence being a unwanted child. Then the teasing at school would of plunged what ever selfish esteem down the drain. Then rene won’t let her date or explore love. I do wonder if Rene was the only man telling her how beautiful she was or wonderful she was? She was a fish in a fish bowl trained to preform but kept away from the ocean
@@whitedragoness23 i completely agree. There were multiple factors that played in this whole thing. I think one of the biggest factors is the social norms at that time. Many people who grew up in that age didn’t even know to call this grooming. If this happened today, social media wouldn’t let it slip. The best we can do is educate the younger generations about grooming and self-love. Parents also need to be educated and aware in their kids’ lives.
What phappaned to her that was so terrible He loved her and she loved him. They had a beautiful life together and 3 beautiful kids. He did not disrespect her in any way They were a classy couple
@kiana marghetis yes , facts are facts Love is real He did not mistreat her in any way He totaly respected and loved her and she the same. You and some others are trying to make it look like falling in love is something dirty and filthy
I NEVER thought they had a "wonderful love story", I found it disturbing and gross. And can you imagine the jackpot Renee hit? He was able to groom someone so young to fall in love with him, adore him, have no other lovers but him, and ensure all her success and money belonged solely to him. I'm not saying he didn't love her or care for her, but he groomed her in such way that she was ALL his! He was her first kiss, he took her virginity, her love and adoration.....
The same thing about the Queen, met prince Phillip at 13, and said she was in love. The truth of the matter was, at that time, they only marry among themselves, cousins. She had no say on who she was going to marry. And now, everyone keeps saying it was a Cinderella. Prince Phillip did what his uncle asked of him, you are going to marry into the royals, period. And he did, and his life was a wealthy one, but not happy.
@@XOXO-mb2vh I think she has many issues, and now the doctors said she has an immune system disease. Many people with trauma do get sick as they age. I feel sorry for her, she does not know what it is not to have him on her side, and maybe she thought it was love.
I don’t know what I was expecting with this video, and I’m not even done with it, but what I’m hearing and seeing is horrific. Did Celine admit in that one interview that she’s borderline illiterate in her native tongue? It sounds like she had some kind of learning difficulty, but instead of getting help, she was just allowed to drop out of school (at twelve!) so her mother could live vicariously through her and support the family. If Mrs Dion resented Celine for existing and Celine had to fight for attention among so many siblings, it’s no wonder she was so open to Rene’s manipulations. It reminds me in many ways of the Mary Kay Letournou case, with a creepy adult grooming a child from an underprivileged and chaotic background to be the “perfect spouse.” It didn’t matter that Celine was of age when the relationship was consummated, because she had been groomed to think she had no other choices.
Omg I was looking for this comment! You worded way better than I ever could. I was just horrified. I had to go back and listen again because I was making dinner while listening. But omg the mother. It’s not all her fault of course but it starts with the parents. They did not protect or love her enough. It’s sad.
You did an outstanding job. Like others who commented, I’m Canadian and close in age to Celine so lived through the rise of her fame in Canada and everyone had a few comments back in the day about how creepy their relationship was. I want to focus on YOUR work on this documentary, you did exactly what you set out to do, kept it to the facts and let us viewers make up our own minds and that isn’t easy. Truly enjoyed this, thank you.
Oh wow thank you so much!! First, I appreciate you watching this and taking the time to comment such encouraging words! I am glad my intentions were able to come across in the delivery of this video as it is always my goal to lay out the facts and allow you all to form your own opinions! Thank you again ❤️
I've been a fan of Celine Dion's voice since her first American album. I also recall feeling absolutely shocked when she married her much-older, longtime manager! I wondered then what her parents had been thinking. Today, I'd love to sit down and have a convo with Rene's second wife, Anne-Renee about when this entire saga began. I especially feel for Celine's children (particularly the twins) who didn't get to enjoy much time with their father due to his age.
@@betheecommentator I'd imagine there'd be a certain amount of betrayal felt by Anne-Renee. I think I'd ask her if, in hindsight, she ever felt there was something wrong or improper about the close relationship developing between Rene and Celine. If Celine was crushing on Rene and had almost no experience with men, I wonder if her crush and her gratitude were difficult to hide. After all, Rene saved both her and her family from a life of poverty. I'd also ask Anne-Renee if she felt those womanly alarm bells go off when something doesn't feel quite right.
@@betheecommentator was Anne-Renée her original name, or did she add the "Renée" part only once she was married to René, I wonder? I wouldn't be surprised.
@@ElenaRose725 spot on! I remember back then, and thinking, Her parents were being paid - it was obvious to everyone he kept them close- so people wouldn't think he was a predator pedophile. She had a crush on him, probably acted on it, and everything else was to protect him and his image!!
I absolutely believe he groomed her. He was married and had monetary issue and gambled. Anne never made it big and dumped her. Celine grew up very naive and he took advantage of her just for his gain.Her mother was right. A friend of mine met him and her short encounter with him before he became very unpleasant, rude and had no class or respect. He exploited Céline what a loser.Ginette is an amazing singer.She was exploited her entire life even by her family.
I don't understand people in the comments swearing up and down everything was perfect. I am 22 today. I could never look at a 13 year old i know today then marry them when they turn 20. The fact that they knew eachother back then is the problem- not the age gap itself.
As soon as I heard "very mature for her age" it just solidified the grooming aspect for me. I always hated that she was treated like this by him and how much he used her, really. Edit: Good lord, it was so bad everything he did. His band mate should know better than to think that an agent has only one darn client. This was scary.
@@christineperez7562 He isolated her from her peers and family and made her completely dependent on him for literally everything from the time she was a child. She didn't have a chance to develop her own interests, her own tastes, her own mind...she wasn't a chronological child when they started "dating"...which is actually just a euphemism for "having sex" btw...and we know he took her virginity, so she never had a chance to date others and maybe get to *choose* for herself who she married. No, he chose her, he molded her for himself, divorced his first wife, and then he married Celine and got her pregnant right away so she couldn't escape. Not a chronological child bride, but she was certainly a child from an emotional and developmental standpoint.
@@christineperez7562 she's been falling in love with him much sooner than that age.. why is that? He was obviously playing with her mind then, until she got older for them to actually come out & date
Manipulation + grooming + isolating + control issues + total dependence on the other = … narcissism. Celine’s decision to marry Rene was not even her own decision … the insidious narcissist hides his true intentions and needs and makes the other think everything is either normal or the other person’s fault. Celine is strong to have survived all that, and thrived. Bon courage, Céline!
This is not a diagnosis by any means but the entire situation reminds me of a condition I once read about at Uni called Obsessive Love Disorder. My own birthmother at age 13 was convinced by a man barely 19 that pregnancy was the only path for their relationship. Once pregnant he was never heard from again until a DNA test 45 years later. Anyone would call my BM's situation as the result of grooming and abuse. Yet here is a child groomed by a man nearly 40 years old! Financial success or eventual marriage should not make this situation any different that what my own BM fell victim to! It is the same thing! It is criminal.
BS. I'm from Quebec, their parents were always wannabe celebrities, her father tried so hard. Their whole family is leeching on Celine's fame, even her mom had her cooking show here, and the sister kept creeping around.
The whole thing is so odd and sad. Celine’s family just seems so selfish and neglectful. Rene may have actually thought she should spend time in school, but he still had an inappropriate relationship with his star, a teen. Honestly Rene’s role as a manager kinda resembles how managers really do control the careers of their clients, and his previous behavior indicates a red flag. To me a good manager follows the wishes of his clients and to provide encouragement. A manger isn’t suppose to use the singer for his/her own wishes. When the french signer (can’t remember her name) declined to go overseas and stay with her boyfriend, Rene seems to have gotten so annoyed by this that he broke up with her professionally and then called her. “A woman at heart.” Like dude, she’s the talent not you, you work for her-continue to help her out, respect her choices. His eventual marriage to a client of his whom he met at age 19 is suspicious as well.
Neither Celine nor her mother had much agency over their lives. Mrs. Dion was told that she has no right to make decisions over her own health and body while her daughter became dependent on a man who strategically (and inappropriately) became her whole world. I imagine that after having given birth to 13 other children, the act of raising a final one kind of seems like too much hassle. I won't deny that Celine has a phenomenal voice but do we know what she's like as a person? I'm sure she missed out on some much needed reflection and self-development
@@betheecommentator when you brought up Rene's gambling and womanizing, I thought you were going to address the rape allegations against him. He helped set up Celine's residency in Vegas which probably wasn't the best idea for a gambler. He reportedly indulged quite a bit and one evening, he allegedly assaulted a casino employee. I think it was settled b/c he was undergoing cancer treatment at the time.
I find it incredibly sad now that she came out about her illness. I think her body has collapsed due to losing everything she ever knew since a little girl - her parents, then her husband. Her world caved in and her body can’t withstand the stress and loss. She gave everything at a million miles per hour her whole life. Too much.
Maybe so, but for now Celine needs to rest, heal and care for herself and her sons, you can bet her sons all can sing beautifully too, let Celine rest and heal, she needs this more now then ever. You get well soon Celine, we love you no matter what.
Great and informative video!!! I feel sad for her feeling unwanted as a child. I was not wanted as a baby by my birth mother. My grandparents who adopted me were sexually, emotionally, and physically abusive. I am 68 and I have had years of therapy. I do have friends and I do have God. You never get over abuse totally. But when I do feel down, I turn to these two things, as well to the pets that II' ve had. I love Celine and her voice. I hope that she gets whatever help she needs.
I’m so sorry that happened to you. I agree, the abuse never goes away. We just have to learn to tune out the triggers. I love you and hope you’re doing well ❤
If I recall correctly, Mariah Carey was married to her much older manager too - around when her first hit album came out. I was a kid and remember thinking it was SO weird...
@@betheecommentator absolutely! Honestly, I'm glad that 11 I could spot that something wasn't right there and it probably helped in keeping me away from creepy older men through my teen years.
I forgot all about that …Motolla. Difference she was miserable and escaped soon as she could. I do feel Celine , at least from what it appears truly loved him, seemed they truly loved each other. But Renee appeared to be so messy with how he previously moved. Hope he treated her right the time they were together
And Tommy had signed her when she was just 18 or 19 years old though I did read that theirs was a sexless marriage so it was really a marriage of convenience but yeah it shows you how controlling these folks can get.
@@timmy841212 I swear I saw a interview back in late 90s or early 20s where she was asked by Barbara walters if Tommy Mottola was the first man she went to bed with and she admitted he was.
This needed to be brought to light with a new lense and merci beaucoup .Im the same age as celine and my fathers family from quebec had 14 kids. So i watched her career unfold as i grew up watching french and english television. What is legal and what was accepted in quebec culture was always up for debate. my mother was 15 when i was conceived and married my dad who was 6 yrs older with one parents permission. As too celine being made aware that she was a accident is also something these families also did not hide from their kids. My french aunt had a change of life baby and made it well known she had separate bedrooms being french catholic as to not to have more children and my cousin was a new years eve accident. This breeds a certain insecurity, and being the youngest in a large family is never easy .as to the interviews of a young celine and her manager there was always a err of whats our relationship is strictly professional. Some interviewers questioned them more then others. Finding out that mama dion stopped accompanying them on trips when celine was 18 is also telling. Everyone knew the laws at their respective times. You can bet Renee knew the letter of the law as it pertained to having sex with minors and how they have edited their love story to that she had not consummate their relationship till she was 20 years old. can we really believe that? The quebecois language is also a factor of isolating her in their personal lives , when living and working away from home you have only each other and close associates to talk to, Celine learning english was a huge thing when i was a teenager would she be able to sing in english and become a break out star was always a big thing. Her parents being illiterate my father as well left school in grade three. he worked at a very young age, what was accepted of a working child is now coming to light as abuse. Grooming is a concept we as a society understand more fully and it describes sadly their relationship fully. And kuddos for you to discuss his gambling addiction , Its said that her residency in las vegas was to pay off his gambling debts as a big whale for the casinos. Thanks once again for shedding light on this, I wish nothing but the best for her of course with her recently diagnosed stiff persons syndrome.
Thank you so much for watching this video and sharing your thoughts with us in such a nuanced, well balanced thought provoking way! Also hearing about your family history and dynamics offers more understanding and insight, so thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences and touch with us!
Why, people see only want they want to see, regardless of age, a person knows what they want,they loved each other very much, so happy they had a happy life together,having children and enjoying their life says it all, happy for what they had, good luck to celine, RIP Rene.
How interesting that Paul the first Manager wanted Celine to grow up and go to school and be normal before fully getting into the business yet Rene wanted the opposite as did Celine and her mom. They don't make managers like Paul now a days.
@@betheecommentator Paul was a loser. Rene was a winner. Pop stars are constructed. We'll never know how many talented young singers missed their moment because they were NOT prepared properly. Do you think Canada has an infinite number of talented managers available who can recognize and exploit such a rare opportunity to advance the career of a singer and her family who wanted to be exploited as much as Rene wanted to exploit Celine. Ask your self this: If Rene had never arrived on the scene and Paul continued as the lackluster manager he was, would you be willing to risk never having heard or even known of Celine Dion? Because that is the choice Celine and her family had before them.
Except Rene actually knew his client. Celine never turned out to be a child star who was overworked and denied a childhood. She never ended up hiding her misery in drugs and alcohol. She was happy to work, hated school anyway. She admits she could have benefited from more schooling, but she wasn't forced. She was already skipping school before Rene came into the picture, so he didn't force that on her. I don't think she was groomed. He was her manager, and 20 is old enough to know who you want to be w/. They've had an exemplary marriage. It's not as if the grooming theory crowd has been proven right. I could wish I had a love like that.
So often these stories happen because the first manager was a cruel and manipulative person who knew what they had and abused it. I'm not saying her first manager was a saint, but at least he wanted her to attend school! I cannot believe everyone let her education fall to the wayside, and let a significantly older man with control issues have such an influence on a literal child. It's also heartbreaking to hear how little confidence she had as a teenager, and how much Rene fed into those issues
Amen!!! Yes it's great that she became a star, etc, but he seemed like he was genuinely concerned about her education and that he not thrust her too soon into the spotlight. Celine's mom was living vicariously through her daughter
She didn't date him until she was 20 and was 26 when they married. That is not a child bride. Now Elvis Presley married a child, Prince Charles married Diana at just 19.
@@christineperez7562 I dont think anyone in this thread called her a child bride. All I was saying is that the circumstances under which she became famous, dropping out of school to help provide for her family and not retaining a tutor to continue her studies, and married a man significantly older than her who she met as a young girl with major self esteem issues, is concerning.
He saw her during her growth and instead of seeing her as a daughter, he isolated her from other people and magically they fell in love. That's grooming and the media supported, and named a fairytale, this relationship.
OMG thank you for making this video. Having spent most of my childhood in the 90s, I was a huge Celine fan and i remember being stunned when I learned the old guy managing her was also her *husband*. Her parents failed her.
@@bgipper4109 I agree with your pov in terms of at a certain point people are going to do what they want. Once Celine made her mind up, there was nothing her parents could do to stop it, her mother tried
Stop being so condescending. Her parents were against the marriage but he proved himself and she was happily married, none of the usual celebrity dramas and scandals. SHE SAYS SHE IS HAPPY. You can rationalise it any way you like with your armchair psychological but at the end of the day she’s not the one psych issues. The current wave of woke revisionists are who need counselling. Its like you just cant accept she could be talented AND happy despite the unconventionality.
In every interview with Celine she always appeared to be too happy. I always felt like she was in denial and almost trying to overcompensate for something being not quite right with the situation. Almost how a woman in an abusive relationship will fake being happy so no one questions what's going on. I know from experience. I have always felt like Renee groomed Celine from a young age. Her commitment, loyalty and almost obsession over him also made me question things.
He was giving her what she wanted: a road to fame and riches. And she, in turn, became his cash cow, among other things. In a way, it was a symbiotic relationship.
Thank god people are finally talking about this!! I was 9 in 1994 and I was creeped out, but it felt to me like the entire province was enraptured, saying it was a fairy tale story. The Beauty and the Beast maybe, grooming and Stockholm syndrome included. Thank you for your video, and you did well with the prononciations. 😊
@BE THEE COMMENTATOR You're welcome. I think there was also an aspect of Quebecers being so proud of having an international star, and René managed to manipulate everyone into believing that Céline would never have gotten where she was without him, so somehow that made it all okay. Because of *him*, we had a star who was world-famous. Which is BS of course, with her talent, any agent worth their salt would have helped her become a star! But keeping her so isolated, out of school, etc., that's abuse 101. He was her whole world, how could she know any better?
Agree… if it was post-war, I can understand. But in modern times… one should find someone closer in age. Otherwise, children lose the older parent when they’re still young
What an incredible story! Mr Angelil definitely saw a rare golden opportunity and took full advantage. Several factors also contributed to making things work perfectly in his favour. May his soul rest in peace. I wish Celine Dion all the best. I wonder what became of all her siblings, she must have loads of nieces & nephews.
Shortly after Rene died one of her brothers passed from the same cancer that Rene had. Her parents have both passed. I don’t know much about any of the other family members, but I hope they are all well.
@@betheecommentator oh wow! Thanks for responding. I came across your channel by chance and now a subscriber. Her mother definitely lived precariously through her daughter and also enabled the late Mr Angelil. May the soul of her parents rest in peace.
@@Shayoyeye5223 of course, I loved engaging with you all! I’m so glad you found my channel and I really appreciate the support!! I agree with you, may they rest in peace.
@@Shayoyeye5223 I agree that "Maman Dion", as she became known, lived vicariously through Céline. She also found fame through Céline and hosted a cooking show on television. I do admire her charitable works for underprivileged children though.
Wow, this made me so much more sad than I expected to be. I had no idea about Celine’s past, she’s always held herself in a very elegant manner it never even made me curious. She never had a childhood. She never knew love outside of being groomed. How heartbreaking
Excellent video. Renee was a Narcissist and he preyed on Celine Dion. She was the golden ticket for him. You can see that Narcissists are surrounding Celine right now.
Excellent job putting this together! Celine is so sweet and humble. She gives me literal earth angel vibes. It was hard to hear her speaking down on herself so much. I hope she’s in a place of healing after Renee’s passing. ❤
I do not get earth angel vibes from Celine at all. Have you seen what she’s up to lately with her satanic children’s clothing line? I do not believe she’s anything like what her image was made to be.
I think that she was sweet and humble, I liked her when she was younger but I started to instantly dislike her after her commercial for her gender neutral clothing brand for children
Which I feel that was much worse. Seemed like mom or some female was around most times. Once she turned 18 she can definitely make her own decisions. Young adults will do what they want to
Elvis was an amazing singer but not smart. He gave away his wealth without evening knowing it and used drugs. He wasn’t nice to Pricilla after he married her. He neglected her and cheated on her. Pricilla’s parents were crazy to turn over their daughter to Elvis. He introduced her to drugs and discouraged her education.
I always thought the relationship was unnatural, but everyone seemed to think it was okay on the surface. I am glad to see you bring this out in the open for what it is. I thought it a little over the top how she worshipped him and depended on him.
Great work! I saw this unfold in real time, cause I'm around Céline's age, and from Québec. You did stellar work in your research, I'm amazed at how you managed to keep it relatively short considering the source material, you did a great job with the French names. And I remember how we were all appaled. I remember the royalty-level wedding. And we were still stunned. I don't think it ever got not-weird.
Thank you so much!! This video could have easily been 2 hrs+ but I try to be mindful of everyone’s time and not make the videos too long. It’s so interesting hearing from you all that live and are from Québec. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience of the situation!
i remember reading about their age gap in some celebrity magazine back in the 00s when i was like 10 and it disturbed me 💀 i still lowkey can't believe this is a real story ???
I was a middle schooler and remember feeling REVOLTED- the age gap, his creepy, bald, chubby step-uncle vibe like the weird “uncle” in Bridget Jones Diary always grabbing her butt! It made me SO uncomfortable, and I couldn’t understand her attraction, but now that I understand the grooming aspects involved, it makes perfect sense.
Their story is a complicated issue, and I applaud how you handled the subject. I can see both points of view: as a longtime fan, I can personally relate to Céline's side (because I had deep emotional & physical attraction to older men when I was a young teen) but it's hard to deny that René's previous experience with Reno didn't affect how he managed Céline - especially after she reached adulthood. There is one story I'm surprised you missed. In her autobiography, Céline told a story about the origins of her attraction to René. When she was 14-15, she was obsessed with him. She obtained a copy of a photograph of him that she cherished. When she was alone, she would kiss it and caress it, then hide it under her pillow when she slept. One day when they were travelling, her mother found the photo and although I can't remember the reaction she described, her mother was not pleased. I sincerely doubt that, at that time, René was attracted to her. But Eddy Marnay (the lyricist) saw this complex relationship and many of Céline's songs from that era reflect her desire to run away with a man who was, if not older, wiser and more experienced. If you Google the translations of these lyrics (songs like "Avec Toi" and "Trois Heures Vingt" to name a few), it's clear Eddy knew Céline was in love with René. In fact, I seem to recall her brother admitted knowing too. Like René and everyone else surrounding Céline, they all thought it was a passing childhood crush. After her "transformation", her lyricist for the Incognito album wrote a song called "Lolita" to express her desire to seduce René. Céline admitted (again, in her autobiography, I believe) that she watched René's expression when she sang it for the first time in the studio to see if he understood who it was intended for and he seemed deeply uncomfortable. This was the year before Eurovision - so if that story is true, she persisted with her efforts until he finally caved in 1988. The movie Aline did a great job handling their story. I highly recommend watching it on Amazon Prime while it's still there. Props to you for your excellent reporting, and I'm sorry for writing a novel here ;-D
Love your comment!! I know the story your speaking of, I didn’t include it because I didn’t want the audience to think that I was “trying to romanticize it”. So I thought it might be more neutral if told more so from the viewpoint of 3rd parties. Hence I used the two or three books quoted in this video. I am a huge fan of Celine and this was a hard one to do because I found myself going back and forth. At times, this seemed problematic and at other times, romantic. So, like you, I was torn. But it was a highly requested video, so I gave it a shot. I also, believe that Celine was the “aggressor” in the situation because everyone that recounted their story said so. She even said, she pursued him. They are such a fascinating story. But I can also see, how this can be “controversial”. Again, thanks so much for your comment! I loved reading it! ❤️❤️
It’s not that complicated. She turned 18 the same year Rene divorced his second wife… pretty obvious to me. It only made him uncomfortable that other people could see the attraction.
Lasciate che le persone amino e sposino chi vogliono...giovani od avanti negli anni, non si ha il diritto di giudicare anche perché Celine l'ha amato follemente ...penso tuttora lei lo ami.
He didn't like that did he?! Weren't they saying how precocious, adult she was from the time she was in her early teens? "such a grown up child." I believe that their "love affair" started earlier than either of them would admit and that they concocted a sanitised version for the public, saying that she was twenty as eighteen would appear too suspicious and people would think they'd started sooner if they announced it as soon as she turned eighteen.
@@bellesbluesI think so too, to Celine she admits he was very charismatic and confident and always acted in charge. He did it to her family and they were at a huge disadvantage because they were very impoverished and trusted him. Celine was 12, and that whole time Rene had 26 years of experience to his advantage and knew how to manipulate her during her young years. I doubt the family realized the grooming going on because they trusted him. Celine did say they dated when she was 19, later she says it was 18. No way he just suddenly had feelings for her when she turned legal age. She practically had been isolated from kids her own age and she it was known she fell for him while she was a child.
I'm surprised this is not talked about more. I am from the eastern end of Montreal, Quebec, a few minutes away from Charlemagne where Céline comes from. I always thought that this relationship was disturbing and the fact that society just accepted it is a mystery to me. I am 25 and I often watch documentaries and true crime content. I am more aware of these things. My mom is around Céline's age so I have asked her about it before. She agrees with me that the whole situation is not right and considered grooming. Edit after reading comments saying that Céline loved him and her mom: OF COURSE she won't realize the manipulation after decades. She was living it and her emotions were molded to fit that.
Yeah, I pointed out in my comment that Celine is in the position to entirely believe and feel the relationship to be pure. But grooming is about control of the mind and circumstances, which Renee did. Talking about her POV is a different discussion than grooming as an action. And it's an action that doesn't necessarily entail molestation or another form of abuse. It's just one person having the power to create want they want in the other. Often it goes very bad for the other person. In Céline's case, it mostly meant she didn't have a life that would've given broader context and more people. It's weird and gray because on the outside we see the control, we see that level of control inherently wrong, and how bad that could've been, even though she has been happy.
" OF COURSE she won't realize the manipulation after decades. She was living it and her emotions were molded to fit that." A big part of this is also because they *did* marry, have children and remain together until death. A reassessment by her is almost unthinkable--she can have the fairy story and a happy narrative to tell her children, or she can do a bunch of wrenching work to realize that he groomed her, controlled her, and managed everything so she would be dependent on him. The people I know who have recognized the grooming they experienced had space from that relationship to look back on it and reassess through adult eyes and recognize the damage without it exerting a huge cost in the present. That quote at the end where she explains how difficult it is to choose how low-cut a dress should be or if she should sing a particular song is just heartbreaking. He appropriated the majority of the normal agency she should have been exerting over her day-to-day life as an adult, and badly stunted her growth for his comfort and convenience.
@@peregrination3643 She's also been happy in part because she attributes her entire success to him, is grateful to him and her earnest dream was to succeed in making herself appealing to him. It is wonderful that she did 'bloom where she was planted' but there's a lot of self-exploration and self-efficacy that she missed out on because he so completely shaped what she did and saw. It's so sad she now has this horrible disease and much less of a chance of new horizons in a third act of her life.
I grew up with Celine's music in the 90s and was such a big fan of her into the 2000s. I remember back then, at the end of the 1990s, when I was a teen, thinking that her love story was a fairy tale. Now, after reading everything about them and also recently stumbling across a movie on her life ("Aline"), I have to say that it leaves me with a very bad feeling. The issue for me is not that she started dating a man twice her age when she was 20. The issue for me is that they had known each other since she was 12 and were in constant contact. So starting a relationship really feels a bit wrong. If they had met for the first time when she was 20 and then gotten together and married, I would see this very different. But he knew her since she was a child and watched her grow up. I do think it is a bit odd to develop sexual feelings for a person in such a situation because you see that person as a child and it takes a lot to change that perception. I don't know, maybe I am wrong and in the end, I do not know their lives and who they were. But for me, learning all the details about how they started left me with a very bad feeling about their relationship.
I had no idea Renée was so emotionally and physically abusive towards his prior wife, Ann who also helped Celine in her career. I wonder if Celine ever knew this before she got involved with her mentor who she eventually married. The fact that he cheated on his first wife for his second wife and then divorced her for Celine, leaving his children behind. This would have mattered to me and I could never want a man like that. And, Celine comes from a very loving family. He would have stayed my Manager only. I wonder if he ever harmed Celine and their children.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? I think it's possible he didn't actively mistreat her because that would be mean losing his meal ticket and I don't think he would risk that. But he did abuse her in other ways like grooming and isolating her from other peers and potential boys, even when she was a young teen and he was an adult. His wife and her parents also aided in this and it wasn't until it was too late that her mother realized the gravity of the situation. Well lady, you shouldn't have let your little girl get close to that old man and none of this would have happened.😕
@@RLF1 Rene was never abusive towards to his wife. As a previous comment said they worked for Rene as a back up singer when he was with his first wife and it was the other way around his wife was verbally abusive with him and Rene was kind and generous to those around him very soft-spoken. I also met Celine 30 years ago and Rene her then fiancé was alongside her and all I’ve ever seen, experienced in the short time that I had with Celine was that Rene was a complete gentleman beside her. He smiled and said hello to me as well and both he and Celine asked me if we enjoyed the show. I think a lot of these comments are incredibly rude and arrogant. The truth of the matter is if those two were just every day working class people and they got married, nobody would even think twice of questioning their age difference. It seems people can’t just stand to see two people genuinely in love, which is so sad it just exemplifies the kind of jealous society we live in.
Great video! I am so happy you did a video about Celine and Rene. There are no video's about this as far as I know, because I think people find it hard to say the reality that it feels wrong, because Celine loved him so much and she seems such a sweet person. What is really sad though is that Celine basically brought all the dreams of the people around her to life, but no one has ever really asked her what she wanted and has tried to let her develop as a person.
Her being a sweet person does not mean she was not taken advantage of and this was not her fault. It's the fault of her abuser and her parents who were willing to look the other way for money.
Correct, in her book Celine said her father worked to provide and was a very quiet man. His wife ran the show, made all the decisions and traveled with Celine. This is according to Celine
Well, he did play the main part in their creation after all! It seems that Celines' mother, after so many births might have liked to cease her spousal obligations but as a wife of that generation would not have been allowed to refuse her husband. He could have chosen to discontinue his procreation!
I’m so glad you made a video about this. I always thought this was so insane but often overlooked by hollywood. Thanks for talking about this! Celine deserved better
This was really good! My kiddo and I love deep dives like this :) I am also a GenX kid and found the relationship odd but like a lot of others since she seemed happy didn’t think to much of it. But I was also in my early 20’s. As a 50 year old woman I can agree with the point being made.
Wow thank you so much for watching and commenting as well as sharing your thoughts with us!! I really appreciate it and I have some new deep dives coming! Stay tuned
So *normally* I just listen to long videos like this, but I had to replay that part where Rene was speaking Arabic, since I found that very compelling. The visuals and the editing are amazing, plus your voice is very calming. Such a brilliant video.
In the movie Love Again, Céline even says that she had a crush on Seal in the late 80s and wanted to do a duet with him. René found out and made sure Seal "wasn't available". She said he lied to her and then confessed. Fits the profile. However, I've had people 20 years younger interested in me, too. It happens.People are so judgmental about age differences. But May-December relationships happen all the time.
Wow. I had no idea about any of this. The way you put together this video is incredible. Your editing and ability to tell these stories in an extremely interesting way keeps improving!
I had no idea either! I did feel it was a bit weird when she married her older manager, but I had no idea that he had been her manager since she was 12! That added a whole new level of creepiness!
First of all, excellent video. Great research and it’s done in a respectful way. I think we should let Celine have the control of her narrative, when she’s ready and if she ever needs to tell her side of the story. Even though the relationship is weird and questionable, let’s not put words into her mouth. You did not do that in your video, and I appreciate it. Officially, Celine was 20 when the relationship started. Celine’s mom was ALWAYS with her, everywhere, until she was 20. I agree that there seem to be some darkness into that story, it is pretty odd, but i really do believe Celine is not at all that naive woman who is controlled by everyone arround her. Celine has a strong character, she’s known in Quebec for being very controlling, mature and perfectionist. When Celine wants something, she gets it. When she wants some change, she changes. She’s very aware and awake, intelligent, supersticious and knows what she wants. Yes, Rene was a good manager, an excellent one, but she had that carreer because SHE wanted it, SHE worked for it, and SHE has the voice. Celine is her own masterpiece. Not his. Lets give her credits for her magnificent carreer. Officially, she was the one who did the first move with Angelil. He resisted a long long time, and they finally got together in 1988, when she was 20 years old. I’m not saying that this version of the story is 100% true. I was not there, I dont know her. But If it is only a fiction to cover something darker, the trauma could be even worst for her if people took control of her narrative. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it, for some reason. And it is okay, if thats the case. Celine gave people so much joy with her out of this world vocal talent. She doesn’t deserve to be invalidated that way, with some TH-cam analysis of her life. She NEVER talked publicly about being groomed by René Angelil. Nor she talked about him negatively. It is VERY possible that she does, till this day, view her relationship with René in a positive way. I don’t think that’s fair to invalidate her feeling and words, if that’s indeed the case. I watched some videos and read some comments that do exactly that and that is not at all a healthy way for Celine to come to terms with anything and heal. Maybe, she will see her story differently one day. Maybe she does right now. Imagine reconsidering all your life. It is traumatising. She may need some time. Let her breathe and let her tell the story herself… if there is another one to tell. Right now, she is heavily sick with a mysterious and uncurable desease that’s changing her life for the worst. The woman needs peace of mind, her body could not take the pressure and needs to stop the machine. For the first time of her life, probably. Please, we need to let her breathe.
It's kind of strange, I loved her voice and her music as a kid, but my mom was never in agreement. She mentioned Rene and said the whole thing was disturbing, though she didn't go into details. It only made sense when I became an adult, all that Rene stole from Celine. He's a monster. The idea that you would not only harbor inappropriate feelings for a minor, but allow yourself to act on them, there's no excuse. It's that simple. It shouldn't matter whatever shes said about him in the past. Her poor mother did what she could. I hate this so much. "No one could love me more..." no, sweet girl, they can, do and will. Shame on anyone who would say anything different
I knew and worked for Rene as a backup singer for Anne Renee. I remember that Anne was verbally abusive to Rene in front of us. I was 23 years old when he discovered me but dropped me because my then loser boyfriend wanted to be my manager. It was then that he chose Celine. She was easier to control. I had a mind of my own. He was always soft spoken with us always and very generous as well. That is my experience with them.
My mother is a concert pianist, and her teacher at Eastman School was very mean and negative to her girl students and was always saying, “You girls just drop everything for a man, get married, and never play piano again wasting your talents.” So it is understandable that managers see this kind of thing all of the time with talented girls-the man in their life takes over and doesn’t want her being onstage. My ex husband was very much like that and so was my father. They were against my music and me playing sports in college. Anything that took me away from being a daughter or wife was not tolerated.
I adore Céline I think she has the sweetest Soul, has a great sense of humour, often mocks herself & I imagine wonderful company to be around. I hope the very best for her, she has made a lot of money, yet she talks of the same kinds of hardships that many of us face. No matter what she still smiles & despite her devastation over the loss of Renee, which I wonder was instrumental in her current illness as she lost somm- a worrying anount if weight much adter he passed I worried about her. I hope she makes a full recovery. I hope she gets to live a full & long happy life. Money can't buy you class, Céline just has it in abundance. Bless you Céline you are a true Angel & so loved by people that don't even know you. ❤🕯🙏
@@luciasaunders9736 ? You never get over someone, you learn to live with it. That's life for all of us. We "ALL" lose someone at some point & in some way. So not sure what you mean.
Video so well done! But I was floored by Celine’s voice at such a young age!! Something about her voice is mesmerizing to me! Sad what she shared about her mama. I can not imagine wanting maybe 5 and husband want none but end up with 14! But seems like mom made it up to here they both had passion for singing. The first song mom wrote was sung so beautifully by her. I understand though those were different times. But Celine grew up so beautifully despite it all.
Another superb documentary. I learned so much, and gives one a lot to think about. The first time I knew of Celine Dion was when she was featured in I think an episode of Touched by an Angel. Her background is fascinating. It makes me wonder about the artists who “make it” and those who don’t. Thanks Bee, your videos are always fascinating!
i’m a quebecoise and i remember when i was in highschool, their relationship was so romanticized that when we did a presentation on her, i was made to sugarcoat their relationship in a mock interview by all my teammates. i played her and i had to make excuses for a relationship i knew was wrong. it’s still taboo to bring it up around certain generations here.
Absolutely love how you put together your videos. Every single one is well thought out, expertly told, and gives me, the viewer information to make my own decision. Exactly what you intend. Thank you!
May I PLEASE REQUEST a deep dive on mary-kate olsen and Oliver sarkozy … I trust that you out of all all the TH-camrs will give this with the nuances and depth it needs. Please I beg you lol
God… I have been following Celine since I was 8 and to be honest I never thought about grooming despite graduating from psychology. That makes so much sense. Thanks for the video
In my head Celine was always up there it seemed as she was in a level of fame that was untouchable. With this being said, when I found out she married her manager I found it weird, although now in finding out that she was way much younger than what I thought she was. I always thought she met him during her mid 20s and now I’m very creeped out by the fact that she met him when she was a tween
Its like you think some magical curtain goes up at a particular age and voila you’re an adult! Lol NO. She was a mature child and evolved over the years. In the end she CHOSE him for better or worse and voila, she was happily married. Why doubt what she says herself?
@@tektako well she recently said in an interview that if her eldest son was brought home a much older woman with the same age gap as herself and Rene that she would “tell her to take her hands off of her son”. I think that is very telling, what’re your thoughts?
I agree, school isn't for everyone, but I do think education should be. Personally, I think getting to match how a kid actually learns with their education system is likely the most ideal situation
I disagree .Education is for everyone. Every child has the right to go to school. School is for everyone. In case she had learning difficulties or neurodiversity she needed a different system in order to learn in her own way .Its not about how smart are you but how are you smart. She was the scapegoat of her family with an existential trauma until she brought them money then became the family's golden ticket and the perfect victim for grooming . She is survivor of neglect isolation grooming abuse and I'm sure sooner or later she will come off with a book about her real story.
@Alf258 But that's what I meant; traditional school may not be for everyone, but education is still important. So yes, match their education with their learning style, but it doesn't mean it's going to be school in the traditional sense
It’s scary to hear about Rene’s physical abuse of Anne-Renee. Worries me that men who can strike ANY woman will typically strike every woman, or at least physically intimidate their partners. Particularly if you view your “partner” as a child or object, abuse is even easier. I hope that didn’t happen to Celine. 😢
A few months ago, I commented and said society was not ready to call what Renée did grooming because they ended up married and Celinè Dion is successful. However, no one can convince me even if he waited for her to turn 18 what he did wasn't wrong. She was 13 and still a child.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
Ugh, this is such a good point. The part at the end where she says the hardest part about losing him is having to make decisions for herself really shows how much control he had over her entire life, it's so sad. I have no doubt in my mind that he groomed her and kept her dependent on him.
Yes! Given her age, it WAS grooming, it cannot be anything else.
Totally agree with all you said & I shared the same sentiments
This. And it's troubling because it's not just this case it is a wider societal view. Child marriage is still allowed in much of the US. If a girl is unmarried and preyed upon by an adult we all see it is r*pe, because we recognize that children aren't developmentally capable of consenting to an adult and that those interactions are harmful to children. Yet if the child is married it is somehow ok and the adult gets a free pass? The marriage hasn't changed anything. The kid is still developmentally the same, so why do people think it is less harmful to the young person because they got married?
I hate that a lot of people said she wasnt a pretty child. Her face was gorgeous. She has always been beautiful, justvas beautiful as the voice she possesses.
Completely agree
@theofficialBTC ..sorry, I disagree completely..Celine was NOT pretty at all...she looks better now due to corrections on her face..
Many Canadiens were shocked at how Celine was always with Renée, he had an eye and ear to know who could become a good singer...what is done is done..with her heath being so bad..she might never know a new love..
she is not beautiful except her eyes as it is with most people ~ that long long pointed chin ~ small very thin lipped mouth ~ long skinny face ~ even with make up it still shows ~
SURGERIES REALLY HELP HER GET BEAUTIFUL
I know! That was almost as ridiculous as rest of the story! She was so cute. I never heard someone complain that they were too skinny and too tall!
I think Renee was able to isolate Celine very well and he was probably able to alter the vision of him in her head. Most 12 year old would have made Renee a father figure in their head or another adult figure like an uncle , but if he was always careful to remind her “I’m your manager”, “I’m not your mom or dad or uncle, I’m your manger” that leaves space for a new role to be filled which opens the door to grooming.
I always felt Celine was isolated in Vegas with him. So sad.
@greerakual from the 1st day, i heard of his relatio ship with Céline at her young age i felt so 🤢 to think she been groomed, persuaded into a sexual relationship , later turning to a love affair
I
@@99balloons71he seemed to hate when his previous singer perused love more than her career. He married one of women he managed the career
Of but stated others shouldn’t cross personal and buiness. He crossed it two times and his second wife reminded me of Celine. He was quick to make exceptions for himself and he kept her isolated and he was a dominating non relative so Celine went for the illusion of love.
They dated as soon as she turned 18, but that means he has feelings for her before she was 18, maybe 17, 16, 15….he knew and took advantage that she fell for him
From reading Celine's autobiography, I would tend to disagree. Celine already had a father, an incredibly close-knit family at that, and she also had a no-nonsense mother who was ever present, guiding her through her career alongside Renee. She also makes it clear that it was she who decided to pursue Renee after she turned 18 (he was unaware of her feelings), and is not only very open in how strong-willed she is, but how exactly she went about making him see her "differently" as an adult and potential romantic partner as opposed to a business partner.
@@greerakual I’m not one to accuse someone of something without facts. I can only go by Celine’s word, which are well documented in her biography. As a child, and even into her older teen years (I believe 19), she was never alone with Rene. Her mother or an older sibling was always around and her mother always traveled with them. When Rene had his second divorce, he actually took a break from managing her for like a year or 2…and went to the states. Also according to Celine, it was at the age of 21 when she made HER move on Rene. Prior to that, Rene avoided Celine when he discovered she had feelings for him.
I believe because “grooming” is the new trending word, everyone wants to believe that because of their age difference, he “groomed her”, when according to Celine, Rene was checking for her in that way.
Her family sought him out to manage her, which he did…she was very popular in Canada before she broke into then states in the early 1990’s.
Celine knows her life better than anyone else, so I’m going to believe her instead of a brand new “fan” hopping on the latest bait story for some views and clicks.
She was isolated from her peers, insecure and faced great pressure by being the breadwinner for her entire family. She was a perfect candidate to groom and manipulate from the beginning. So disgusting that this isn’t discussed more often!
You summed it up very well
Yeah exactly this.
This was literally celine's dream, as well as her parents.. her parents are the one that took her around to clubs singing... and to finally take the tape to Mr Angelil.... so with your reasoning it was literally her parents that groomed her..
@@astrialindah2773 ... this went far over your head if you can't grasp what was said here... her parents are also at fault for a lot of reasons.
@@astrialindah2773 I doubt her parents had it in their plans for them to begin a relationship.
She says no one would ever love her as deep and true as he did. How could she know, poor Celine you were never given the chance 😢
Entirely heartbreaking.
Poor thing was groomed to believe that. Smh
She wasn't Interested in dating
When did she say that? Specific reference please?
@@starlight0002she said it in the first couple of minutes of the video the wedding scene
Her story is sad from the very beginning: look at her family, not very opened to the outside , not concerned about the fact that she missed school so often. I am a fan of her voice, music and even her person, I thnk she's fun but you have to admit that something's wrong in her story and René is not the only responsible.
I think one of the saddest parts of this is that she was absolutely distraught when he died. That iconic performance of "All By Myself" is branded in my mind. He clearly meant the world and more to her. But their relationship was established on an absolutely horrible foundation. All I can say is I hope Celine Dion is doing alright and has good family around her as she continues her life.
I agree I remember that performance. Very sad.
Also Ashes from Deadpool 2. If I recall correctly, it was recorded not long after Rene Angelil passed. The song’s amazing but it also hits differently with that in mind.
I think their relationship was built on love, why critisise their relationship‼️‼️‼️❓❓❓
@@margueritetheron9667 not criticizing but looking at it objectively because many wanted to know if Rene groomed Celine.
It was interesting because in a recent interview Celine was asked the question: how would she feel if her son dated someone much older like how Rene was older than her. She responded that she would not approve of it.
@@betheecommentator your video had painted Rene negatively right from the beginning imo. Not that it matters, but to me the man is dead. He can't defend himself anymore, they had a seemingly good life together and now she has only good things to say about her husband. Her children are her business. There are dark conspiracy rumours about Celine though, you might want to look them up
Makes me sad thinking that Celine felt ugly when she was a child. I think she was and is beautiful.. God bless her.
@@marinapetrie7234 Right?! I think she was gorgeous, and her personality was infectious from day one.
It was her teeth that messed up her looks. I went through the same thing as a young child and when I was early 20's I had my crooked teeth fixed.
That feeling when you lost your adolescence and don’t realize you did because you didn’t understand what was happening and still somehow don’t.
This was grooming in every sense possible. She was 12 when they met. He made her little girl dream come true... for a price. She was isolated from a normal teenage life, no exposure to kids her age. Put in a situation where there's financial pressure to support her family. He didn't make her finish school, didn't expose her to teenage experiences at all. He was controlling all her moves and surroundings. He very much wanted to be seen as a savior. What other role model did she have that seemed as powerful? Then the adult new look made him see her differently.... come on, he knew her inside and out before then. He exploited her adoration of what success they had. This was payback. His best friend went to jail for abusing another child star for years. He was fully supportive of his pedophile friend during trial and after sentencing. Grooming seems more acceptable when there's financial success around it. He molded her and made it look like it was her decision. Think about it, who made the first move to show the reality of the relationship had changed? He approached her once she was convinced that he was everything a man should be.... without any exposure to other men her age or dating any other. Maybe he just groomed her patiently.... but it is grooming in every aspect of the isolation, a teenager will have the impression they're in love when it's in fact a father figure... which he turned into intimacy with one move. He just knew the right moment to let her know she's a woman. Everything in her life is completely controlled by him, especially her feelings. He created a codependent relation that he fed the right elements to achieve what he wanted. She was an investment. Any adult isolating a child for all these years would be claimed a pedophile.
Thank you so much for commenting and sharing your thoughts. This was a very thought provoking comment. You also made such valid points. Especially your comment regarding his friend Guy Cloutiers abuse is very telling.
Well stated. Since his death, she has been extremely thin and IMO, dressing in an odd manner. Have you seen any of her recent photos? It’s a sad situation.
You are so right. They have all the patience in the world to groom their victims
Wow. This is absolutely insightful. I was also involved in a relationship that was abusive, traumatic, and predatory - and everything that you described made me feel like you were reading my diary. This is beautifully articulated!
@@sabrina.natalie I hope you have been healing. ❤️
I agree with Celine Dion. School is not for everyone. I still have nightmares from that period. I was force to finished High School.
And every young child who has an enormous talent should instead focus all energy there from a young age so by the time they reach maturity they are a master at their craft. No one can deny such young perfected talent, its almost guaranteed success !
I was obsessed with Celine in the late 90s/early 00s, and my parents were concerned I would want to emulate her. They knew it was grooming, and they were worried I would think it was cool. In Celine's words "never did, never will."
Great parents!! 👏
Incredible aware parents 👏
As a teen I always felt their marriage was a bit off to me. As an adult, I’m happy I’m not the only person who continues to feel this way. How unfortunate.
Her parents had Renee promise he would never cross the line with their daughter. A promise he apparently couldn't resist breaking.
He probably never physically crossed the line (prior to her being 18), but 100% emotionally was alluding to "deeper feelings".
@@vickienna_games doubtfull
Celine crossed it first after she turned 18 and kissed him. I'm not blaming her, but she made the first move.
@@katemaloney4296thats what she* said....sure whe would say that to protect him
@vickienna_games Probably? Id say Possibly , but Nobody knows/knew what took place, except them.
This is one of the most civil and insightful comment sections I’ve ever seen for video about a difficult, complicated topic. Kudos to you for your work and for the community you foster here online.
Oh wow thank you so much!! I really hope to create a community where we may not always agree but we can express our opinions and thought without hostility and toxicity. Thank you so much for your kind words and feedback!! Truly, thank you!! ❤️❤️
I was NOT ready for that banger that her mother wrote. OMG, that was beautiful.
Yes I agree that song was beautiful and Celine added her touch, perfect 🤩
In my opinion, Renee put a ring on her finger so no one else could. I feel he loved the money and adulation she brought. It may be he was " in love " with time. She stated she was always around adults and I believe Renee made sure of it, as groomers often do.
There was definitely some power dynamics going on here, even with how he related to her parents and family. They said he was “the rich man who came in to save the day”
She was his biggest meal ticket
This is exactly it. She was too young and inexperienced to not interpret his investment in her, control over her and obsession with her success (i.e. his success) for anything but love. And whats unappealing for him about marrying a young beautifully transformed talented superstar as a much older man even if he wasn't organically in love? He had nothing to lose everything to gain AND secure by marrying her. And what could be said? He basically transformed her into that superstar so no one could argue he was "taking advantage or had devious intentions' lets be honest, she likely wouldnt be the Celine we know today if it weren't for his hand in her career... ofcourse she fell in love with him ..as the perfect storm of circumstances made it nearly impossible for her not to have, and any attempts at her progressing and socializing more normally were immediately thwarted. To this day you'd never be able to get her to see things any differently then the way she sees and she believes Rene' saw them. When you are dealing with object poverty, lack of education, impressionable age, parental pressure etc. That has a effect on the psyche in way that cannot be balanced when those variables are not in play. Celine didn't stand a chance. Now take all that off the table and if still all happened the way it did, then more power to them but I don't believe that would have been the case. Nevertheless, it's long since history now.
@@CrystalM1917 wow your comment is very insightful and well put, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!
I think Celine would spit in your face if you said that directly to her
100% he did. I was a teen when I heard the story of their relationship and I was disgusted and 30 year later I still am.
Same here She was groomed
Ugh. This doesn't feel like a fairy tale. It feels like one part grooming, two parts Stockholm Syndrome.
Yes that's what I felt. Stockholm Syndrome, for sure.
disagree
All parts mole$tation
Yeah. Painful
🎯
One thing that stands out to me is that when talking about falling in love with her, he said that he was now attracted to her after she had undergone a physical transformation. Not necessarily that she had matured, but that he found her more attractive. Btw, I absolutely love your channel! All your videos are so well done and interesting.
Wow interesting! I didn’t even think about that, great point
I thought he pay for the physical transformation.
@@nicoleackerman205 it’s been speculated that he did. I couldn’t find an interview where he or Celine said that themselves but again it’s been alleged that he did pay for her transformation.
And Rene also said about the makeover as he called it, they had to make her 'into a woman'.
@@janice8514 yup he felt that before they could promote her in the American market they needed to get rid of her child like image.
It’s so sad to hear her talk so negatively about the way she looked when she was younger. I find her so cute, happy, and captivating. I hope that everyone will try to remember that other people don’t see the flaws that you do when you look in the mirror, they see your spirit.
So many of us see ourselves as ugly ducklings when we are young. She got to grow out of that phase, got her teeth fixed, and married a man who adored her and accepted her just as she was.
Celine really believes her relationship with Renee was a fairytale. She was rip for this man to manipulate her. He really groomed her. He took advantage of her crush on him. At some point she believed that she could help a grown man go through a divorce. He nurtured her insecurities, about her looks. Its sad,one day she will understand that he was not the prince charming she believed him to be. She wants us to believe that she seduced him. I wish her well, because she has a beautiful voice. ♥
Yes Denise Henry. Another thing, how tragic that Celine could actually say what she did to the interviewer, that “school isn’t for everyone.” How tragic at her age to say that.
@@MTknitter22 Well, there's a difference between school and education. It is true that school might to be for everyone, as someone can struggle there for several reasons, like being neurodivergent, suffering bulling , et cetera .That doesn't mean that person can't or shouldn't get a proper education outside school.
@@MTknitter22 adhd kids will tell you that every day of week. You should probably just get out more.
Why would she not believe it when she is the one who has lived it?
She started dating him when she was 20 and married at 26 that is not a child bride. Well she is older and still feels that way.
She married her groomer. Their "relationship" always creeped me out.
that last quote alone, where she talks about how she's now going to have to make decisions for herself because Rene has passed... really chilling and it implies a lot about their dynamic, even after all these decades
I don't see anything wrong with that. I have the same fear. I'm 34 and my bf is 61. We have a son together, a house.. cars..
Like we're just like every other couple. Age gaps are the last taboo. Society will sooner accept people sleeping with their dogs before they do two of age people wanting to be together.
@AngelBabii_x0x but were you a preteen whose work constituted the livelihood of an adult man? I don't think there is much wrong inherently with age gaps (often, they don't work because there are disconnects in terms of experiences or goals) but this one was so rife for something weird to happen, what with the complete power imbalance between the two.
@@CrustyUgg was your bf an authority figure when you were still a developing child? Was your bf bestfriend , at the same time, sexually assaulting his own protégée, ending up in jail after decades of abuse? The only reason dude went to jail was because he lost his grip as he couldn't bring her to Celine's level. And shifted his focus to younger prettier victimes.
@@_Julie_Bee to a lot of people it doesn't matter. When I've told people that my boyfriend is basically twice my age, they still don't think it's OK even though we met when I was in my late 20s and more than capable of making decisions about who I want to be with. With all the things that people consider to be normal, nowadays age gap, relationships are the last taboo.
@@CrustyUgg I'm 10 yrs older than my son's father. He was an adult, ppl made jokes but in the end, the age gap did make a difference in maturity. He turned out being so insecure that I've endured 7 years of domestic violence, and almost died. Tho I truly believe that as we age, the gap becomes less and less an issue, there are several milestones that one needs to go thru in order to be a balanced adult.
I was just talking about Celine and her husband to my 15 year old. We were talking about grooming. I told her I’d find an article about it but this video popped up! I love it when things work out.
Oh wow perfect timing. I hope you guys find it informative
Nothing like preparing your daughter for victimhood, indoctrinating her that everyones a predator and raising her to distrust her own judgement. If you did everything else right you wouldn’t need to be showing her that kind of videos because she’d know for herself when something is wrong.
@@tektako i disagree with you.
It's because our phones are listening to us! Start noticing, it'll constantly give you the topic you're talking about 😂
@@debras3806 oh I know. It’s creepy! Sometimes I test it out and say random things and see if an ad pops up.
When hearing," School is not for everybody." from Celine, makes my heart flutter. Many kids have learning disabilities and hearing her say that probably was just that. It's like saying tieing your shoes is not for everybody. Education is part of childhood developments and is very important.
Edit. This is for all the people who will read more into this than what I stated. School, homeschooling, tutoring, etc, can affect a child's development and basically she had none of the 3 mentioned. This is what I was saying. I did not say homeschooling is terrible or it can't contribute to education. My goodness, we all need education in some type of way to develop to know how to function socially and more. Please don't make this comment about traditional schooling vs homeschooling or tutoring. Please don't
That was exactly what I thought, especially talking about how hard it was to lose the stimulation of being in her home and not being able to follow along in class, it just breaks my heart. I don’t begrudge her any success but she was definitely exploited by her “support” system
* School IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY. The traditional school system doesn’t work for a lot of people including myself and my son. I quit after a few months of 9th grade. I figured out it was mostly a popularity contest for teachers and the kids alike. Not to mention doing the work only consisted of making each individual teacher happy. What a waste of time! Got my GED went straight to work for an attorney as a receptionist/runner and learned more practical knowledge working in the Law field than I could’ve ever learned in high school.
There are family schools now-a-days where families go to school 1/2 days, 4 days a week, all in the same classroom and each age are taught at their own pace. The idea is everyone learns from each other. So when they are not in class for 1/2 the day they are able to help each other with homework at home.
I love this arrangement especially in large families when the parent doesn’t have a lot of time to spend individually helping each child with homework. This can also be a start to helping parents learn along with their children if desired. \
This could’ve been the perfect type of education for Ms. Celine because she would still be around her support system, which is the family she loved! ❤️
Honestly I thought the same thing. It's like she's emotionally stunted as a teenager. Justifying her parents bad decisions to let her down. Yeah school is hard for lots of us, but you can't stop every time something is hard. This seems so dysfunctional.
It’s hard to hear a person with such a God given talent to say that school is not as important than working on a career.
In order to be good at music, you must learn how to read music. Usually that means school.
Everyday math skills. You learn not to be taken for a ride by Nefarious people, by learning Math. To learn Math properly. Means School.
You must know how to read. Who else is going to make sure the contracts are legitimate if YOU don’t read them. You learn how in SCHOOL! You get the picture…
She got lucky that he was able to manage her to a successful career. Apparently she didn’t need to be educated to become rich. NOT EVERYONE IS SO LUCKY!
She influences millions of young people all around the world. She should be telling them that education is the key to being a success no matter what you want to do or be.
A Degree (high school or college), is the key to opening many doors!!
@@abqjewel5055 that is you and you and SOME are exceptions but for the most, school helps develop social skills, which is a part of childhood developments, it introduces play and other childhood skills people need. Education is the bigger issue here
She was uneducated and even if she didn't go to school, she could've been homeschooled.
My first boyfriend was twice my age when we got together, and started negging me immediately. He was thrice-divorced and I was a virgin. He was very controlling. It took me several attempts to leave him, finally moving hundreds of miles to attend massage school, and that gave me enough distance to feel a little safer.
So are you ok now?
Something similar happened to me.
Was it his age ?? Or thar He was abusive ? Does a man need age to control you or abuse you ? No
He got a divorce from his wife when Celine was 17 years old. He was with Celine all the time, traveling and managing her career. Renee knew that if he did not move fast, he might lose Celine to another man, and his position as her manager could end. He did NOT want to lose that much money. He found a superstar, and if he lost her, he would return to a mediocre life. I see him as a money-hungry man for the most part.
They were all in a co-dependent relationship with each other. The parents: desperate to get out of poverty and have their daughter live their dreams. Céline: desperate to make it big and leave a life, not only of poverty, but of being an outcast. Réné: wanting to make it big at all costs. Under such circumstances, and especially for a young, naive, girl, it's easy to "fall in love" and for him, easy to fall in love when this is your ticket to the big time. I think their vision of the "big time" and their personal feelings were highly emmeshed.
Gold digging pedo.
His wife also helped Celine learn how to dress and present herself professionally. She gave up her tv job to help her husband with Celine. Then he divorces her to Pursue a child. What a slap in the face.
@@raimeyewens7518 That is terrible! Also, he had two children with his wife - a girl and a boy - He left them, too, as it looks. He had the boys with Celine and only paid attention to them. I never heard anything about him visiting his two kids. That is even worse - I am sure those kids got hurt by that. How far some people will go for money. So sad.
@@OceanSound100 Three children, actually--one son with the first wife, two children with the second, three sons with Celine.
Another excellent video! I'm Celine's age & Renè is my Dad's age, so I was always a little creeped out by the age difference. If he had met her when she was 18 that might have made a difference but she was just so young. Others mentioned grooming, and I agree. He definitely had what seems like complete control over her starting at 12 or 13 years old. I totally understand her mom being very upset by their relationship.
Thank you so much for watching and engaging with us! I appreciate your support ❤️
She started dating him when she was 20 and married at 26.
@@christineperez7562 it doesn’t matter. He met & began working with her when she was 12. That’s the part that’s disturbing. Not to mention that he was a known womanizer, so he was not innocent by any means.
Excellent point. My husband is the same age as my birthmother but that is because my BM fell for a man who was grooming her. She was 13, he was over 18. He convinced her the only way for them to spend a life together was for her to get pregnant. Yet when that happened he took off, ran for the hills and disappeared. When I was 45 my BM was happy to finally meet me. She was never told what gender I was. She suffered a great deal of trauma. The result of a DNA test caused my sperm donor/BF's niece to contact me. She was confused as the DNA said she was my 1st cousin yet her uncle swore he had never gotten any girl pregnant aside from his current wife. He was a liar from the beginning and is still causing problems in his current family.
@@gypsysoul5513I found the part where his 2nd wife was a singer and it sounded like he mixed pleasure with business too often. He neglected his 2nd wife after all she did for him. That’s sad, I’m surprised at his ex wife’s allegations of assault, if true then I doubt he would stray from that behavior and would definitely explain more of dion’s parents concerns
I’m happy this is finally being more talked about. I’ve said this time and time again and I’ve always received the “love is love” or “they were soulmates” bs. The facts show that this is textbook grooming, and sadly, Celine will die thinking that it’s true love. This is why we need to have these conversations so that this doesn’t happen to other young girls and boys.
It’s sad that she states how she was a unwanted and unplanned pregnancy. That would of reduced her self confidence being a unwanted child. Then the teasing at school would of plunged what ever selfish esteem down the drain. Then rene won’t let her date or explore love. I do wonder if Rene was the only man telling her how beautiful she was or wonderful she was? She was a fish in a fish bowl trained to preform but kept away from the ocean
@@whitedragoness23 i completely agree. There were multiple factors that played in this whole thing. I think one of the biggest factors is the social norms at that time. Many people who grew up in that age didn’t even know to call this grooming. If this happened today, social media wouldn’t let it slip. The best we can do is educate the younger generations about grooming and self-love. Parents also need to be educated and aware in their kids’ lives.
What phappaned to her that was so terrible
He loved her and she loved him. They had a beautiful life together and 3 beautiful kids. He did not disrespect her in any way
They were a classy couple
@@annaservetas214 you’re free to believe what you want, as am I. However, the facts are facts and they don’t lie 🤷🏼♀️
@kiana marghetis yes , facts are facts
Love is real
He did not mistreat her in any way
He totaly respected and loved her and she the same. You and some others are trying to make it look like falling in love is something dirty and filthy
I NEVER thought they had a "wonderful love story", I found it disturbing and gross.
And can you imagine the jackpot Renee hit? He was able to groom someone so young to fall in love with him, adore him, have no other lovers but him, and ensure all her success and money belonged solely to him. I'm not saying he didn't love her or care for her, but he groomed her in such way that she was ALL his! He was her first kiss, he took her virginity, her love and adoration.....
The same thing about the Queen, met prince Phillip at 13, and said she was in love. The truth of the matter was, at that time, they only marry among themselves, cousins. She had no say on who she was going to marry. And now, everyone keeps saying it was a Cinderella. Prince Phillip did what his uncle asked of him, you are going to marry into the royals, period. And he did, and his life was a wealthy one, but not happy.
@@laurenmay2098 ay but at least he was handsome! Lol!!!
Maybe thats why she was bulimic.
@@XOXO-mb2vh I think she has many issues, and now the doctors said she has an immune system disease. Many people with trauma do get sick as they age. I feel sorry for her, she does not know what it is not to have him on her side, and maybe she thought it was love.
@@texastea5686 I see beauty in him, but he was very rude and crude dude. Not my cup of tea.
I don’t know what I was expecting with this video, and I’m not even done with it, but what I’m hearing and seeing is horrific. Did Celine admit in that one interview that she’s borderline illiterate in her native tongue? It sounds like she had some kind of learning difficulty, but instead of getting help, she was just allowed to drop out of school (at twelve!) so her mother could live vicariously through her and support the family. If Mrs Dion resented Celine for existing and Celine had to fight for attention among so many siblings, it’s no wonder she was so open to Rene’s manipulations. It reminds me in many ways of the Mary Kay Letournou case, with a creepy adult grooming a child from an underprivileged and chaotic background to be the “perfect spouse.” It didn’t matter that Celine was of age when the relationship was consummated, because she had been groomed to think she had no other choices.
Very good point, wow such valid statements you made. Yes it seems that in the interview you’re referring to she can’t write that well in French.
I live in the town where LeTourneau lived with her young lover. Such a strange story. he took care of her until she died of cancer.
@@LilyGazou He divorced her before her death, though.
Omg I was looking for this comment! You worded way better than I ever could. I was just horrified. I had to go back and listen again because I was making dinner while listening. But omg the mother. It’s not all her fault of course but it starts with the parents. They did not protect or love her enough. It’s sad.
Dude you're painting a horrible picture that's not even true. She's so successful with her talent. Her talent was music, not writing. Stfu.
You did an outstanding job. Like others who commented, I’m Canadian and close in age to Celine so lived through the rise of her fame in Canada and everyone had a few comments back in the day about how creepy their relationship was. I want to focus on YOUR work on this documentary, you did exactly what you set out to do, kept it to the facts and let us viewers make up our own minds and that isn’t easy. Truly enjoyed this, thank you.
Oh wow thank you so much!! First, I appreciate you watching this and taking the time to comment such encouraging words! I am glad my intentions were able to come across in the delivery of this video as it is always my goal to lay out the facts and allow you all to form your own opinions! Thank you again ❤️
I've been a fan of Celine Dion's voice since her first American album. I also recall feeling absolutely shocked when she married her much-older, longtime manager! I wondered then what her parents had been thinking. Today, I'd love to sit down and have a convo with Rene's second wife, Anne-Renee about when this entire saga began. I especially feel for Celine's children (particularly the twins) who didn't get to enjoy much time with their father due to his age.
I wonder if Anne felt betrayed in a way, especially since she was so close to Celine? What would you ask her (Anne) if you had the chance?
@@betheecommentator I'd imagine there'd be a certain amount of betrayal felt by Anne-Renee. I think I'd ask her if, in hindsight, she ever felt there was something wrong or improper about the close relationship developing between Rene and Celine. If Celine was crushing on Rene and had almost no experience with men, I wonder if her crush and her gratitude were difficult to hide. After all, Rene saved both her and her family from a life of poverty. I'd also ask Anne-Renee if she felt those womanly alarm bells go off when something doesn't feel quite right.
@@betheecommentator was Anne-Renée her original name, or did she add the "Renée" part only once she was married to René, I wonder? I wouldn't be surprised.
@@hermanubis7046 her name was Anne Renee prior to meeting Rene
@@ElenaRose725 spot on! I remember back then, and thinking, Her parents were being paid - it was obvious to everyone he kept them close- so people wouldn't think he was a predator pedophile. She had a crush on him, probably acted on it, and everything else was to protect him and his image!!
I absolutely believe he groomed her. He was married and had monetary issue and gambled. Anne never made it big and dumped her. Celine grew up very naive and he took advantage of her just for his gain.Her mother was right. A friend of mine met him and her short encounter with him before he became very unpleasant, rude and had no class or respect. He exploited Céline what a loser.Ginette is an amazing singer.She was exploited her entire life even by her family.
I don't understand people in the comments swearing up and down everything was perfect. I am 22 today. I could never look at a 13 year old i know today then marry them when they turn 20. The fact that they knew eachother back then is the problem- not the age gap itself.
Yes! THAT is what I found disturbing too. Precisely that!
As soon as I heard "very mature for her age" it just solidified the grooming aspect for me. I always hated that she was treated like this by him and how much he used her, really.
Edit: Good lord, it was so bad everything he did. His band mate should know better than to think that an agent has only one darn client. This was scary.
They didn't date until she was 20 and married when she was 26. That is not a child bride.
@@christineperez7562 grooming starts early you idiot. He isolated her from other men.
@@christineperez7562 He isolated her from her peers and family and made her completely dependent on him for literally everything from the time she was a child. She didn't have a chance to develop her own interests, her own tastes, her own mind...she wasn't a chronological child when they started "dating"...which is actually just a euphemism for "having sex" btw...and we know he took her virginity, so she never had a chance to date others and maybe get to *choose* for herself who she married. No, he chose her, he molded her for himself, divorced his first wife, and then he married Celine and got her pregnant right away so she couldn't escape. Not a chronological child bride, but she was certainly a child from an emotional and developmental standpoint.
@@christineperez7562 she's been falling in love with him much sooner than that age.. why is that? He was obviously playing with her mind then, until she got older for them to actually come out & date
Twenty years still young even at 26 when they married still young and not mature
Manipulation + grooming + isolating + control issues + total dependence on the other = … narcissism. Celine’s decision to marry Rene was not even her own decision … the insidious narcissist hides his true intentions and needs and makes the other think everything is either normal or the other person’s fault. Celine is strong to have survived all that, and thrived. Bon courage, Céline!
This is not a diagnosis by any means but the entire situation reminds me of a condition I once read about at Uni called Obsessive Love Disorder. My own birthmother at age 13 was convinced by a man barely 19 that pregnancy was the only path for their relationship. Once pregnant he was never heard from again until a DNA test 45 years later. Anyone would call my BM's situation as the result of grooming and abuse. Yet here is a child groomed by a man nearly 40 years old! Financial success or eventual marriage should not make this situation any different that what my own BM fell victim to! It is the same thing! It is criminal.
Are you a therapist?
Celine is fairly narcissistic herself. In a way, those two were made for each other.
@@ek6321she’s really not.
Celine’s parents went to Rene because her manager at that time thought Celine should spend more time in school than pursuing a career.
Yes that is correct.
BS. I'm from Quebec, their parents were always wannabe celebrities, her father tried so hard. Their whole family is leeching on Celine's fame, even her mom had her cooking show here, and the sister kept creeping around.
The whole thing is so odd and sad. Celine’s family just seems so selfish and neglectful. Rene may have actually thought she should spend time in school, but he still had an inappropriate relationship with his star, a teen. Honestly Rene’s role as a manager kinda resembles how managers really do control the careers of their clients, and his previous behavior indicates a red flag. To me a good manager follows the wishes of his clients and to provide encouragement. A manger isn’t suppose to use the singer for his/her own wishes. When the french signer (can’t remember her name) declined to go overseas and stay with her boyfriend, Rene seems to have gotten so annoyed by this that he broke up with her professionally and then called her. “A woman at heart.” Like dude, she’s the talent not you, you work for her-continue to help her out, respect her choices. His eventual marriage to a client of his whom he met at age 19 is suspicious as well.
Neither Celine nor her mother had much agency over their lives. Mrs. Dion was told that she has no right to make decisions over her own health and body while her daughter became dependent on a man who strategically (and inappropriately) became her whole world. I imagine that after having given birth to 13 other children, the act of raising a final one kind of seems like too much hassle. I won't deny that Celine has a phenomenal voice but do we know what she's like as a person? I'm sure she missed out on some much needed reflection and self-development
Wow good points
@@betheecommentator when you brought up Rene's gambling and womanizing, I thought you were going to address the rape allegations against him. He helped set up Celine's residency in Vegas which probably wasn't the best idea for a gambler. He reportedly indulged quite a bit and one evening, he allegedly assaulted a casino employee. I think it was settled b/c he was undergoing cancer treatment at the time.
@@lizd.8655 wow I actually didn’t come across that in my research. This is my first time hearing about it. Wow I had no idea.
@@betheecommentator I felt awful for the alleged victim, IIRC, she made it seemed like she was ignored and then paid off to go away
I can attest to what you're saying. My great grandmother was the youngest of 20 kids. She always said my mother was just tired when I came along.
I find it incredibly sad now that she came out about her illness. I think her body has collapsed due to losing everything she ever knew since a little girl - her parents, then her husband. Her world caved in and her body can’t withstand the stress and loss. She gave everything at a million miles per hour her whole life. Too much.
Maybe so, but for now Celine needs to rest, heal and care for herself and her sons, you can bet her sons all can sing beautifully too, let Celine rest and heal, she needs this more now then ever. You get well soon Celine, we love you no matter what.
@Vigilante you don't recover from the disease she has sadly
I think her brother (the one who connected her to Angelil) passed away in that period too. She went through so many losses all at once.
And now she is in heaven did she die of a broken heart
All just so so sad that's all I can say rite or wrong just all so very sad 😢
Great and informative video!!! I feel sad for her feeling unwanted as a child. I was not wanted as a baby by my birth mother. My grandparents who adopted me were sexually, emotionally, and physically abusive. I am 68 and I have had years of therapy. I do have friends and I do have God. You never get over abuse totally. But when I do feel down, I turn to these two things, as well to the pets that II' ve had. I love Celine and her voice. I hope that she gets whatever help she needs.
Thank you so much for watching and sharing your story with us! I agree I love Celine’s voice, beautiful
I’m so sorry that happened to you. I agree, the abuse never goes away. We just have to learn to tune out the triggers. I love you and hope you’re doing well ❤
Big (hugs) 💕
@@heyodi3092 you're a beautiful soul 💙💙💙
Did Celine ever date any teenage boys?
And people wonder why some parents don’t allow just anyone around their kids. This world is scary
Right?!
I wonder did God accept him, or hell it makes me wonder if he had sex with her before 18.
Our little ones need to be protected😥Too much evil in the world😢
Her mom and dad only were looking for fame and fortune
If I recall correctly, Mariah Carey was married to her much older manager too - around when her first hit album came out. I was a kid and remember thinking it was SO weird...
See those power dynamics can be a huge problem
@@betheecommentator absolutely! Honestly, I'm glad that 11 I could spot that something wasn't right there and it probably helped in keeping me away from creepy older men through my teen years.
I forgot all about that …Motolla. Difference she was miserable and escaped soon as she could. I do feel Celine , at least from what it appears truly loved him, seemed they truly loved each other. But Renee appeared to be so messy with how he previously moved. Hope he treated her right the time they were together
And Tommy had signed her when she was just 18 or 19 years old though I did read that theirs was a sexless marriage so it was really a marriage of convenience but yeah it shows you how controlling these folks can get.
@@timmy841212 I swear I saw a interview back in late 90s or early 20s where she was asked by Barbara walters if Tommy Mottola was the first man she went to bed with and she admitted he was.
This needed to be brought to light with a new lense and merci beaucoup .Im the same age as celine and my fathers family from quebec had 14 kids. So i watched her career unfold as i grew up watching french and english television. What is legal and what was accepted in quebec culture was always up for debate. my mother was 15 when i was conceived and married my dad who was 6 yrs older with one parents permission. As too celine being made aware that she was a accident is also something these families also did not hide from their kids. My french aunt had a change of life baby and made it well known she had separate bedrooms being french catholic as to not to have more children and my cousin was a new years eve accident. This breeds a certain insecurity, and being the youngest in a large family is never easy .as to the interviews of a young celine and her manager there was always a err of whats our relationship is strictly professional. Some interviewers questioned them more then others. Finding out that mama dion stopped accompanying them on trips when celine was 18 is also telling. Everyone knew the laws at their respective times. You can bet Renee knew the letter of the law as it pertained to having sex with minors and how they have edited their love story to that she had not consummate their relationship till she was 20 years old. can we really believe that? The quebecois language is also a factor of isolating her in their personal lives , when living and working away from home you have only each other and close associates to talk to, Celine learning english was a huge thing when i was a teenager would she be able to sing in english and become a break out star was always a big thing. Her parents being illiterate my father as well left school in grade three. he worked at a very young age, what was accepted of a working child is now coming to light as abuse. Grooming is a concept we as a society understand more fully and it describes sadly their relationship fully. And kuddos for you to discuss his gambling addiction , Its said that her residency in las vegas was to pay off his gambling debts as a big whale for the casinos. Thanks once again for shedding light on this, I wish nothing but the best for her of course with her recently diagnosed stiff persons syndrome.
Thank you so much for watching this video and sharing your thoughts with us in such a nuanced, well balanced thought provoking way! Also hearing about your family history and dynamics offers more understanding and insight, so thank you so much for sharing your personal experiences and touch with us!
Why, people see only want they want to see, regardless of age, a person knows what they want,they loved each other very much, so happy they had a happy life together,having children and enjoying their life says it all, happy for what they had, good luck to celine, RIP Rene.
How interesting that Paul the first Manager wanted Celine to grow up and go to school and be normal before fully getting into the business yet Rene wanted the opposite as did Celine and her mom. They don't make managers like Paul now a days.
Such a good distinction you made between the two! Thank you for addressing that!!
I wonder how Paul feels about all of this after many years (not sure if he is still living).
@@betheecommentator
Paul was a loser. Rene was a winner. Pop stars are constructed. We'll never know how many talented young singers missed their moment because they were NOT
prepared properly. Do you think Canada has an infinite number of talented managers available who can recognize and exploit such a rare opportunity to
advance the career of a singer and her family who wanted to be exploited as much as Rene wanted to exploit Celine.
Ask your self this: If Rene had never arrived on the scene and Paul continued as the lackluster manager he was, would you be willing to risk never having heard or
even known of Celine Dion?
Because that is the choice Celine and her family had before them.
Except Rene actually knew his client. Celine never turned out to be a child star who was overworked and denied a childhood. She never ended up hiding her misery in drugs and alcohol. She was happy to work, hated school anyway. She admits she could have benefited from more schooling, but she wasn't forced. She was already skipping school before Rene came into the picture, so he didn't force that on her. I don't think she was groomed. He was her manager, and 20 is old enough to know who you want to be w/. They've had an exemplary marriage. It's not as if the grooming theory crowd has been proven right. I could wish I had a love like that.
@@vickienna_gameshe lives.
So often these stories happen because the first manager was a cruel and manipulative person who knew what they had and abused it. I'm not saying her first manager was a saint, but at least he wanted her to attend school! I cannot believe everyone let her education fall to the wayside, and let a significantly older man with control issues have such an influence on a literal child.
It's also heartbreaking to hear how little confidence she had as a teenager, and how much Rene fed into those issues
Thank you for saying this!!!
Yup
Amen!!! Yes it's great that she became a star, etc, but he seemed like he was genuinely concerned about her education and that he not thrust her too soon into the spotlight. Celine's mom was living vicariously through her daughter
She didn't date him until she was 20 and was 26 when they married. That is not a child bride. Now Elvis Presley married a child, Prince Charles married Diana at just 19.
@@christineperez7562 I dont think anyone in this thread called her a child bride. All I was saying is that the circumstances under which she became famous, dropping out of school to help provide for her family and not retaining a tutor to continue her studies, and married a man significantly older than her who she met as a young girl with major self esteem issues, is concerning.
He saw her during her growth and instead of seeing her as a daughter, he isolated her from other people and magically they fell in love. That's grooming and the media supported, and named a fairytale, this relationship.
💯 percent no one held him accountable.
OMG thank you for making this video. Having spent most of my childhood in the 90s, I was a huge Celine fan and i remember being stunned when I learned the old guy managing her was also her *husband*. Her parents failed her.
You’re welcome! Thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts with us ❤️
After she turned 16, they couldn’t stop Celine and let’s face it, her personality is quite pushy. Celine did what she wanted to do.
@@bgipper4109 I agree with your pov in terms of at a certain point people are going to do what they want. Once Celine made her mind up, there was nothing her parents could do to stop it, her mother tried
Stop being so condescending. Her parents were against the marriage but he proved himself and she was happily married, none of the usual celebrity dramas and scandals. SHE SAYS SHE IS HAPPY. You can rationalise it any way you like with your armchair psychological but at the end of the day she’s not the one psych issues. The current wave of woke revisionists are who need counselling. Its like you just cant accept she could be talented AND happy despite the unconventionality.
@@bgipper4109 agreed!
In every interview with Celine she always appeared to be too happy. I always felt like she was in denial and almost trying to overcompensate for something being not quite right with the situation. Almost how a woman in an abusive relationship will fake being happy so no one questions what's going on. I know from experience. I have always felt like Renee groomed Celine from a young age. Her commitment, loyalty and almost obsession over him also made me question things.
He was giving her what she wanted: a road to fame and riches. And she, in turn, became his cash cow, among other things. In a way, it was a symbiotic relationship.
@@ek6321 Was it really what she wanted though? Or was she trying to please those she loved?
Exactly!
Thank god people are finally talking about this!! I was 9 in 1994 and I was creeped out, but it felt to me like the entire province was enraptured, saying it was a fairy tale story. The Beauty and the Beast maybe, grooming and Stockholm syndrome included.
Thank you for your video, and you did well with the prononciations. 😊
Thank you so much for watching! I also appreciate you sharing your thoughts and opinions ❤️
@BE THEE COMMENTATOR You're welcome. I think there was also an aspect of Quebecers being so proud of having an international star, and René managed to manipulate everyone into believing that Céline would never have gotten where she was without him, so somehow that made it all okay. Because of *him*, we had a star who was world-famous. Which is BS of course, with her talent, any agent worth their salt would have helped her become a star!
But keeping her so isolated, out of school, etc., that's abuse 101. He was her whole world, how could she know any better?
I was 19 and grossed out! A friend said “but he’s rich!” Doesn’t matter, eww.
Agree… if it was post-war, I can understand. But in modern times… one should find someone closer in age. Otherwise, children lose the older parent when they’re still young
@@daliab8493 post-war that is ok, but not ok for modern times? what? LOL
This was honestly tough to view. She was so young and he was in complete control of her life. No doubt in my mind he groomed her.
What an incredible story! Mr Angelil definitely saw a rare golden opportunity and took full advantage. Several factors also contributed to making things work perfectly in his favour. May his soul rest in peace. I wish Celine Dion all the best. I wonder what became of all her siblings, she must have loads of nieces & nephews.
Shortly after Rene died one of her brothers passed from the same cancer that Rene had. Her parents have both passed. I don’t know much about any of the other family members, but I hope they are all well.
@@betheecommentator oh wow! Thanks for responding. I came across your channel by chance and now a subscriber. Her mother definitely lived precariously through her daughter and also enabled the late Mr Angelil. May the soul of her parents rest in peace.
@@Shayoyeye5223 of course, I loved engaging with you all! I’m so glad you found my channel and I really appreciate the support!! I agree with you, may they rest in peace.
@@Shayoyeye5223 I agree that "Maman Dion", as she became known, lived vicariously through Céline. She also found fame through Céline and hosted a cooking show on television. I do admire her charitable works for underprivileged children though.
Very well done documentary on Celine and Renee. Very respectful and not sensationalized, yet an excellent, detailed exploration of their relationship.
Your comment means so much, thank you for taking the time to watch it and share your feedback! So thankful!
Standing ovation! 🧍♀️ 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏
Awwwww THANK YOU!!!!
RIGHT 👏👏👏👏👏👏❤️
Wow, this made me so much more sad than I expected to be. I had no idea about Celine’s past, she’s always held herself in a very elegant manner it never even made me curious. She never had a childhood. She never knew love outside of being groomed. How heartbreaking
I said this years ago and people ripped me a new one. I'm glad we as a society are able to see things more clearly when it comes to grooming now.
I think she just became co dependant with him as she was a child.
Wishing her the best, I think she is a musical legend
Excellent video. Renee was a Narcissist and he preyed on Celine Dion. She was the golden ticket for him. You can see that Narcissists are surrounding Celine right now.
Thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts with us, I think you are spot on!
If he was a narcissist, Celine wouldn’t have had a good marriage or family life, and she was very happy.
No. Not necessarily.
Just watching. I will only say you can't deny what a beautiful voice she had, even when she was so young!
I agree absolutely beautiful!
Excellent job putting this together! Celine is so sweet and humble. She gives me literal earth angel vibes. It was hard to hear her speaking down on herself so much. I hope she’s in a place of healing after Renee’s passing. ❤
Thank you so much for watching and sharing your thoughts ❤️❤️
No angel promoting New World Order infant clothing in black print. Devilish looking. Devil Illuminati hand gestures she shows all the time.
I do not get earth angel vibes from Celine at all. Have you seen what she’s up to lately with her satanic children’s clothing line? I do not believe she’s anything like what her image was made to be.
Mmmm plotting on a married man 🥴 real Angelic.
I think that she was sweet and humble, I liked her when she was younger but I started to instantly dislike her after her commercial for her gender neutral clothing brand for children
This is like Pricilla’s parents giving their 14 yr old daughter to live with Elvis.
Which I feel that was much worse. Seemed like mom or some female was around most times. Once she turned 18 she can definitely make her own decisions. Young adults will do what they want to
Elvis was amasingly beautiful, smart and one of the best Singer in the World. René was noting.
How about Woody Allen
Elvis was an amazing singer but not smart. He gave away his wealth without evening knowing it and used drugs. He wasn’t nice to Pricilla after he married her. He neglected her and cheated on her. Pricilla’s parents were crazy to turn over their daughter to Elvis. He introduced her to drugs and discouraged her education.
@@annelikindlund9183 Elvis was a copy cat that could dance with limited vocal capabilites. Stop playing.
I always thought the relationship was unnatural, but everyone seemed to think it was okay on the surface. I am glad to see you bring this out in the open for what it is. I thought it a little over the top how she worshipped him and depended on him.
@scottwilliams1709🫠
Great work! I saw this unfold in real time, cause I'm around Céline's age, and from Québec. You did stellar work in your research, I'm amazed at how you managed to keep it relatively short considering the source material, you did a great job with the French names.
And I remember how we were all appaled. I remember the royalty-level wedding. And we were still stunned. I don't think it ever got not-weird.
Thank you so much!! This video could have easily been 2 hrs+ but I try to be mindful of everyone’s time and not make the videos too long. It’s so interesting hearing from you all that live and are from Québec. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience of the situation!
And yet she is happy. Imagine.
When she had a baby with him I was 14. I was appalled. I stopped listening afterwards.
Yes! You nailed it. It never got "not weird". You're totally right.
It is a wonderful examination of her early years. I would personally love to hear a professional psychologist's evaluation of this entire situation.
i remember reading about their age gap in some celebrity magazine back in the 00s when i was like 10 and it disturbed me 💀 i still lowkey can't believe this is a real story ???
I know right?! It is definitely a real story. I remember hearing about it too in the 90s but it always talked about in such a romantic way. 😬
I was a middle schooler and remember feeling REVOLTED- the age gap, his creepy, bald, chubby step-uncle vibe like the weird “uncle” in Bridget Jones Diary always grabbing her butt! It made me SO uncomfortable, and I couldn’t understand her attraction, but now that I understand the grooming aspects involved, it makes perfect sense.
Same! It always sat odd.
Their story is a complicated issue, and I applaud how you handled the subject. I can see both points of view: as a longtime fan, I can personally relate to Céline's side (because I had deep emotional & physical attraction to older men when I was a young teen) but it's hard to deny that René's previous experience with Reno didn't affect how he managed Céline - especially after she reached adulthood.
There is one story I'm surprised you missed. In her autobiography, Céline told a story about the origins of her attraction to René. When she was 14-15, she was obsessed with him. She obtained a copy of a photograph of him that she cherished. When she was alone, she would kiss it and caress it, then hide it under her pillow when she slept. One day when they were travelling, her mother found the photo and although I can't remember the reaction she described, her mother was not pleased. I sincerely doubt that, at that time, René was attracted to her. But Eddy Marnay (the lyricist) saw this complex relationship and many of Céline's songs from that era reflect her desire to run away with a man who was, if not older, wiser and more experienced. If you Google the translations of these lyrics (songs like "Avec Toi" and "Trois Heures Vingt" to name a few), it's clear Eddy knew Céline was in love with René. In fact, I seem to recall her brother admitted knowing too. Like René and everyone else surrounding Céline, they all thought it was a passing childhood crush.
After her "transformation", her lyricist for the Incognito album wrote a song called "Lolita" to express her desire to seduce René. Céline admitted (again, in her autobiography, I believe) that she watched René's expression when she sang it for the first time in the studio to see if he understood who it was intended for and he seemed deeply uncomfortable. This was the year before Eurovision - so if that story is true, she persisted with her efforts until he finally caved in 1988. The movie Aline did a great job handling their story. I highly recommend watching it on Amazon Prime while it's still there. Props to you for your excellent reporting, and I'm sorry for writing a novel here ;-D
Love your comment!! I know the story your speaking of, I didn’t include it because I didn’t want the audience to think that I was “trying to romanticize it”. So I thought it might be more neutral if told more so from the viewpoint of 3rd parties. Hence I used the two or three books quoted in this video.
I am a huge fan of Celine and this was a hard one to do because I found myself going back and forth. At times, this seemed problematic and at other times, romantic. So, like you, I was torn. But it was a highly requested video, so I gave it a shot.
I also, believe that Celine was the “aggressor” in the situation because everyone that recounted their story said so. She even said, she pursued him. They are such a fascinating story. But I can also see, how this can be “controversial”.
Again, thanks so much for your comment! I loved reading it! ❤️❤️
It’s not that complicated. She turned 18 the same year Rene divorced his second wife… pretty obvious to me. It only made him uncomfortable that other people could see the attraction.
@kimmycook3174 totally agree with you
Lasciate che le persone amino e sposino chi vogliono...giovani od avanti negli anni, non si ha il diritto di giudicare anche perché Celine l'ha amato follemente ...penso tuttora lei lo ami.
Rene was old enough to know
Celine was not.
"One day I became a grown up child" ummm Celine I think you're subconscious is trying to tell you something
You’re one of a few that picked up on that!
I also found that disturbing!
What the heck?
He didn't like that did he?!
Weren't they saying how precocious, adult she was from the time she was in her early teens? "such a grown up child."
I believe that their "love affair" started earlier than either of them would admit and that they concocted a sanitised version for the public, saying that she was twenty as eighteen would appear too suspicious and people would think they'd started sooner if they announced it as soon as she turned eighteen.
@@bellesbluesI think so too, to Celine she admits he was very charismatic and confident and always acted in charge. He did it to her family and they were at a huge disadvantage because they were very impoverished and trusted him. Celine was 12, and that whole time Rene had 26 years of experience to his advantage and knew how to manipulate her during her young years.
I doubt the family realized the grooming going on because they trusted him. Celine did say they dated when she was 19, later she says it was 18. No way he just suddenly had feelings for her when she turned legal age. She practically had been isolated from kids her own age and she it was known she fell for him while she was a child.
I'm surprised this is not talked about more. I am from the eastern end of Montreal, Quebec, a few minutes away from Charlemagne where Céline comes from. I always thought that this relationship was disturbing and the fact that society just accepted it is a mystery to me. I am 25 and I often watch documentaries and true crime content. I am more aware of these things. My mom is around Céline's age so I have asked her about it before. She agrees with me that the whole situation is not right and considered grooming.
Edit after reading comments saying that Céline loved him and her mom: OF COURSE she won't realize the manipulation after decades. She was living it and her emotions were molded to fit that.
Yeah, I pointed out in my comment that Celine is in the position to entirely believe and feel the relationship to be pure. But grooming is about control of the mind and circumstances, which Renee did. Talking about her POV is a different discussion than grooming as an action. And it's an action that doesn't necessarily entail molestation or another form of abuse. It's just one person having the power to create want they want in the other. Often it goes very bad for the other person. In Céline's case, it mostly meant she didn't have a life that would've given broader context and more people. It's weird and gray because on the outside we see the control, we see that level of control inherently wrong, and how bad that could've been, even though she has been happy.
Exactly
" OF COURSE she won't realize the manipulation after decades. She was living it and her emotions were molded to fit that."
A big part of this is also because they *did* marry, have children and remain together until death. A reassessment by her is almost unthinkable--she can have the fairy story and a happy narrative to tell her children, or she can do a bunch of wrenching work to realize that he groomed her, controlled her, and managed everything so she would be dependent on him.
The people I know who have recognized the grooming they experienced had space from that relationship to look back on it and reassess through adult eyes and recognize the damage without it exerting a huge cost in the present.
That quote at the end where she explains how difficult it is to choose how low-cut a dress should be or if she should sing a particular song is just heartbreaking. He appropriated the majority of the normal agency she should have been exerting over her day-to-day life as an adult, and badly stunted her growth for his comfort and convenience.
@@peregrination3643 She's also been happy in part because she attributes her entire success to him, is grateful to him and her earnest dream was to succeed in making herself appealing to him.
It is wonderful that she did 'bloom where she was planted' but there's a lot of self-exploration and self-efficacy that she missed out on because he so completely shaped what she did and saw.
It's so sad she now has this horrible disease and much less of a chance of new horizons in a third act of her life.
Also, this makes me think of Stockholm Syndrome🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️
She'll never see this situation the same way we do, and maybe that's a good thing for her.
I grew up with Celine's music in the 90s and was such a big fan of her into the 2000s. I remember back then, at the end of the 1990s, when I was a teen, thinking that her love story was a fairy tale. Now, after reading everything about them and also recently stumbling across a movie on her life ("Aline"), I have to say that it leaves me with a very bad feeling. The issue for me is not that she started dating a man twice her age when she was 20. The issue for me is that they had known each other since she was 12 and were in constant contact. So starting a relationship really feels a bit wrong.
If they had met for the first time when she was 20 and then gotten together and married, I would see this very different. But he knew her since she was a child and watched her grow up. I do think it is a bit odd to develop sexual feelings for a person in such a situation because you see that person as a child and it takes a lot to change that perception.
I don't know, maybe I am wrong and in the end, I do not know their lives and who they were. But for me, learning all the details about how they started left me with a very bad feeling about their relationship.
I had no idea Renée was so emotionally and physically abusive towards his prior wife, Ann who also helped Celine in her career. I wonder if Celine ever knew this before she got involved with her mentor who she eventually married. The fact that he cheated on his first wife for his second wife and then divorced her for Celine, leaving his children behind. This would have mattered to me and I could never want a man like that. And, Celine comes from a very loving family. He would have stayed my Manager only. I wonder if he ever harmed Celine and their children.
Makes you wonder, doesn't it? I think it's possible he didn't actively mistreat her because that would be mean losing his meal ticket and I don't think he would risk that. But he did abuse her in other ways like grooming and isolating her from other peers and potential boys, even when she was a young teen and he was an adult. His wife and her parents also aided in this and it wasn't until it was too late that her mother realized the gravity of the situation. Well lady, you shouldn't have let your little girl get close to that old man and none of this would have happened.😕
@@RLF1 Rene was never abusive towards to his wife. As a previous comment said they worked for Rene as a back up singer when he was with his first wife and it was the other way around his wife was verbally abusive with him and Rene was kind and generous to those around him very soft-spoken. I also met Celine 30 years ago and Rene her then fiancé was alongside her and all I’ve ever seen, experienced in the short time that I had with Celine was that Rene was a complete gentleman beside her. He smiled and said hello to me as well and both he and Celine asked me if we enjoyed the show. I think a lot of these comments are incredibly rude and arrogant. The truth of the matter is if those two were just every day working class people and they got married, nobody would even think twice of questioning their age difference. It seems people can’t just stand to see two people genuinely in love, which is so sad it just exemplifies the kind of jealous society we live in.
Renee was old enough to be her grandfather when she was a child just sickening😢
Great video! I am so happy you did a video about Celine and Rene. There are no video's about this as far as I know, because I think people find it hard to say the reality that it feels wrong, because Celine loved him so much and she seems such a sweet person. What is really sad though is that Celine basically brought all the dreams of the people around her to life, but no one has ever really asked her what she wanted and has tried to let her develop as a person.
That is such a good point!! Wow…that’s so true it’s sad.
Check out the TH-cam channel Sloan. He posted about Renee grooming Celine.
Love this. THANK YOU.
Sounds like Brittany Spears story also!
Her being a sweet person does not mean she was not taken advantage of and this was not her fault. It's the fault of her abuser and her parents who were willing to look the other way for money.
This is amazing research, very professional, and better than many documentaries I have seen on Television.
Saw Celine in concert after her break in the US, it was awesome! So sad to learn of these hardships. She was my favorite singer of the 90s.
She is my favorite singer. ❤
Her father got little credit. He must have worked himself sick to feed them all. Can you imagine?
Correct, in her book Celine said her father worked to provide and was a very quiet man. His wife ran the show, made all the decisions and traveled with Celine. This is according to Celine
Well, he did play the main part in their creation after all! It seems that Celines' mother, after so many births might have liked to cease her spousal obligations but as a wife of that generation would not have been allowed to refuse her husband. He could have chosen to discontinue his procreation!
I’m so glad you made a video about this. I always thought this was so insane but often overlooked by hollywood. Thanks for talking about this! Celine deserved better
This was a highly requested video from my subscribers! Thank you for watching ❤️
Exactly! No one stood up for her!🤗
This was really good! My kiddo and I love deep dives like this :) I am also a GenX kid and found the relationship odd but like a lot of others since she seemed happy didn’t think to much of it. But I was also in my early 20’s. As a 50 year old woman I can agree with the point being made.
Wow thank you so much for watching and commenting as well as sharing your thoughts with us!! I really appreciate it and I have some new deep dives coming! Stay tuned
So *normally* I just listen to long videos like this, but I had to replay that part where Rene was speaking Arabic, since I found that very compelling. The visuals and the editing are amazing, plus your voice is very calming. Such a brilliant video.
Oh my, thank you so much!! I really appreciate your feedback and am so glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks so much for watching and commenting ❤️❤️
In the movie Love Again, Céline even says that she had a crush on Seal in the late 80s and wanted to do a duet with him. René found out and made sure Seal "wasn't available". She said he lied to her and then confessed. Fits the profile. However, I've had people 20 years younger interested in me, too. It happens.People are so judgmental about age differences. But May-December relationships happen all the time.
Wow. I had no idea about any of this.
The way you put together this video is incredible. Your editing and ability to tell these stories in an extremely interesting way keeps improving!
Awww thank you so much, I’m glad you enjoyed it and also found it informative. Again, thank you ❤️❤️
I had no idea either! I did feel it was a bit weird when she married her older manager, but I had no idea that he had been her manager since she was 12! That added a whole new level of creepiness!
Why is your voice so soothing? Makes the video all that more fun to listen to
Aww thank you so much, I’m really glad you find it comforting ❤️❤️
First of all, excellent video. Great research and it’s done in a respectful way.
I think we should let Celine have the control of her narrative, when she’s ready and if she ever needs to tell her side of the story. Even though the relationship is weird and questionable, let’s not put words into her mouth. You did not do that in your video, and I appreciate it.
Officially, Celine was 20 when the relationship started. Celine’s mom was ALWAYS with her, everywhere, until she was 20.
I agree that there seem to be some darkness into that story, it is pretty odd, but i really do believe Celine is not at all that naive woman who is controlled by everyone arround her. Celine has a strong character, she’s known in Quebec for being very controlling, mature and perfectionist. When Celine wants something, she gets it. When she wants some change, she changes. She’s very aware and awake, intelligent, supersticious and knows what she wants.
Yes, Rene was a good manager, an excellent one, but she had that carreer because SHE wanted it, SHE worked for it, and SHE has the voice. Celine is her own masterpiece. Not his. Lets give her credits for her magnificent carreer.
Officially, she was the one who did the first move with Angelil. He resisted a long long time, and they finally got together in 1988, when she was 20 years old.
I’m not saying that this version of the story is 100% true. I was not there, I dont know her. But If it is only a fiction to cover something darker, the trauma could be even worst for her if people took control of her narrative. Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about it, for some reason. And it is okay, if thats the case.
Celine gave people so much joy with her out of this world vocal talent. She doesn’t deserve to be invalidated that way, with some TH-cam analysis of her life. She NEVER talked publicly about being groomed by René Angelil. Nor she talked about him negatively. It is VERY possible that she does, till this day, view her relationship with René in a positive way.
I don’t think that’s fair to invalidate her feeling and words, if that’s indeed the case.
I watched some videos and read some comments that do exactly that and that is not at all a healthy way for Celine to come to terms with anything and heal.
Maybe, she will see her story differently one day. Maybe she does right now. Imagine reconsidering all your life. It is traumatising. She may need some time.
Let her breathe and let her tell the story herself… if there is another one to tell.
Right now, she is heavily sick with a mysterious and uncurable desease that’s changing her life for the worst. The woman needs peace of mind, her body could not take the pressure and needs to stop the machine. For the first time of her life, probably.
Please, we need to let her breathe.
Loved your comment and thank you so much for breaking it down in such a respectful and thought provoking way! Truly, thank YOU for sharing ❤️❤️
It's kind of strange, I loved her voice and her music as a kid, but my mom was never in agreement. She mentioned Rene and said the whole thing was disturbing, though she didn't go into details. It only made sense when I became an adult, all that Rene stole from Celine. He's a monster. The idea that you would not only harbor inappropriate feelings for a minor, but allow yourself to act on them, there's no excuse. It's that simple. It shouldn't matter whatever shes said about him in the past. Her poor mother did what she could. I hate this so much.
"No one could love me more..." no, sweet girl, they can, do and will. Shame on anyone who would say anything different
I knew and worked for Rene as a backup singer for Anne Renee. I remember that Anne was verbally abusive to Rene in front of us. I was 23 years old when he discovered me but dropped me because my then loser boyfriend wanted to be my manager. It was then that he chose Celine. She was easier to control. I had a mind of my own. He was always soft spoken with us always and very generous as well. That is my experience with them.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us!!
Seems like a toxic relationship on both sides. Hate that a young girl was around that. Her parents didn't protect her.😔
My mother is a concert pianist, and her teacher at Eastman School was very mean and negative to her girl students and was always saying, “You girls just drop everything for a man, get married, and never play piano again wasting your talents.” So it is understandable that managers see this kind of thing all of the time with talented girls-the man in their life takes over and doesn’t want her being onstage. My ex husband was very much like that and so was my father. They were against my music and me playing sports in college. Anything that took me away from being a daughter or wife was not tolerated.
I adore Céline I think she has the sweetest Soul, has a great sense of humour, often mocks herself & I imagine wonderful company to be around. I hope the very best for her, she has made a lot of money, yet she talks of the same kinds of hardships that many of us face. No matter what she still smiles & despite her devastation over the loss of Renee, which I wonder was instrumental in her current illness as she lost somm- a worrying anount if weight much adter he passed I worried about her. I hope she makes a full recovery. I hope she gets to live a full & long happy life. Money can't buy you class, Céline just has it in abundance. Bless you Céline you are a true Angel & so loved by people that don't even know you. ❤🕯🙏
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20186723/
@@Lunar5Breeze : Well, she didn't get over him until today.
@@luciasaunders9736 ? You never get over someone, you learn to live with it. That's life for all of us. We "ALL" lose someone at some point & in some way. So not sure what you mean.
You be on it. I’m so glad someone finally did this story💯
Thanks so much for watching!! I hope you find it informative ❤️
@@betheecommentator You are so welcome.
Video so well done! But I was floored by Celine’s voice at such a young age!! Something about her voice is mesmerizing to me! Sad what she shared about her mama. I can not imagine wanting maybe 5 and husband want none but end up with 14! But seems like mom made it up to here they both had passion for singing. The first song mom wrote was sung so beautifully by her. I understand though those were different times. But Celine grew up so beautifully despite it all.
I agree, she is so talented! Even at a young age like you said, she was amazing!!
I can't even imagine having 1
The Dion's were the white Jacksons and Celine their Michael
Another superb documentary. I learned so much, and gives one a lot to think about. The first time I knew of Celine Dion was when she was featured in I think an episode of Touched by an Angel. Her background is fascinating. It makes me wonder about the artists who “make it” and those who don’t. Thanks Bee, your videos are always fascinating!
Thank you so much!!! I’m glad you found it informative ❤️❤️
i’m a quebecoise and i remember when i was in highschool, their relationship was so romanticized that when we did a presentation on her, i was made to sugarcoat their relationship in a mock interview by all my teammates. i played her and i had to make excuses for a relationship i knew was wrong. it’s still taboo to bring it up around certain generations here.
Wow 😯
Gosh your production quality is exceptional. Loving your work. Also, what a great spoken voice for documentaries. Perfection.
Wow! Thank you so much!l for your feedback and compliments, I really appreciate it 💕💕
Absolutely love how you put together your videos. Every single one is well thought out, expertly told, and gives me, the viewer information to make my own decision. Exactly what you intend. Thank you!
Awww that’s perfect!! I’m so glad you enjoy my content and style and I REALLY appreciate your support and feedback ❤️❤️
May I PLEASE REQUEST a deep dive on mary-kate olsen and Oliver sarkozy … I trust that you out of all all the TH-camrs will give this with the nuances and depth it needs. Please I beg you lol
God… I have been following Celine since I was 8 and to be honest I never thought about grooming despite graduating from psychology. That makes so much sense. Thanks for the video
In my head Celine was always up there it seemed as she was in a level of fame that was untouchable. With this being said, when I found out she married her manager I found it weird, although now in finding out that she was way much younger than what I thought she was. I always thought she met him during her mid 20s and now I’m very creeped out by the fact that she met him when she was a tween
I agree, Celine is amazing. Also, thank you for commenting and sharing your thoughts on the topic
Its like you think some magical curtain goes up at a particular age and voila you’re an adult! Lol NO. She was a mature child and evolved over the years. In the end she CHOSE him for better or worse and voila, she was happily married. Why doubt what she says herself?
She started dating him when she was 20 then married when she was 26.
@@tektako well she recently said in an interview that if her eldest son was brought home a much older woman with the same age gap as herself and Rene that she would “tell her to take her hands off of her son”. I think that is very telling, what’re your thoughts?
When she was twelve
I agree, school isn't for everyone, but I do think education should be. Personally, I think getting to match how a kid actually learns with their education system is likely the most ideal situation
Hmmm interesting point, thank you for sharing with us!
They could have gotten a tutor for her but the whole gang was too busy trying to make her a star to care. JMO
@@Jessica-wo6px Fair; defs seems like the priorities of the adults around her were questionable at best :/
I disagree .Education is for everyone. Every child has the right to go to school. School is for everyone. In case she had learning difficulties or neurodiversity she needed a different system in order to learn in her own way .Its not about how smart are you but how are you smart. She was the scapegoat of her family with an existential trauma until she brought them money then became the family's golden ticket and the perfect victim for grooming . She is survivor of neglect isolation grooming abuse and I'm sure sooner or later she will come off with a book about her real story.
@Alf258 But that's what I meant; traditional school may not be for everyone, but education is still important. So yes, match their education with their learning style, but it doesn't mean it's going to be school in the traditional sense
Renee learned from losing genette to become the lover of the artist because the influence is so great on that artist. Smh
Sis we still wanna see part 2 of that Jon and Kate story you ate that up i been checking ya page everyday. Thank you
That is the next video that will be out, it’s coming I promise and it’ll be good!! I appreciate your support!! ❤️❤️
It’s scary to hear about Rene’s physical abuse of Anne-Renee. Worries me that men who can strike ANY woman will typically strike every woman, or at least physically intimidate their partners. Particularly if you view your “partner” as a child or object, abuse is even easier. I hope that didn’t happen to Celine. 😢
maybe he did a really good job at training her to behave how he expec ted so he never needed to be violent in order to exert control?
@@satsumamoon tbh this might be the case. She's too dependent on him to disobey the guy