Celine Dion Admits to ‘Tough Times’ in Marriage

Celine Dion and Rene Angelil (Getty Images)

Celine Dion's marriage hasn't always been perfect, but the famed crooner is revealing the trick to her heart going on and it isn't complicated: It's communication.

The Grammy winner and her husband/ manager, Rene Angelil, have one of Hollywood's most enduring, and perhaps most unlikely, love stories. After meeting when Dion was only 12 and Angelil was 38, they went on their first date seven years later, and have now been married just shy of two decades. Their relationship has endured despite the pressures of working together, being in the spotlight, a massive age difference, and struggling to conceive. (Through in-vitro fertilization, the couple now has three healthy sons.)

In some ways, what's more surprising than the fact that their partnership is still going strong is the reason that's the case. Apparently one of Dion's close girlfriends is to thank. In an interview with Vegas Deluxe, the songstress admits that it wasn't always smooth sailing for the high-flying pair.

"Rene and I had our tough times. It wasn't always easy. We had tension between us. It's never easy being husband and wife, but add to that we are in business together, dealing with all the added pressures of shows, concerts, tours, traveling. It was hard — a lot of hard work," she explains before adding, "Up until seven years ago, we weren't communicating properly."

Perhaps it was their lack of communication (at least in part) that spurred the star to take a break from the limelight and focus on her older and somewhat ailing husband. In January 2000—six years before Dion claims they fixed their problems—the couple renewed their vows in a lavish ceremony at Caesar's Palace Casino and Hotel. At the time, Dion's spokesperson claimed it was "a way to mark the start of her time out."

Dion blames that lack of communication largely on her own habit of ignoring the issues at hand … until she finally turned to a friend for advice. So what did this (seemingly very wise) friend say?

For starters, she told the star that brushing it under the rug and hoping it would go away simply wouldn't work. To solve an issue, you have to talk about it.

"A very good girlfriend talked to me about the real meaning of communication, the right way to communicate and really properly communicate on an equal and respectful level," the mother of three reveals. "[It] changed the way we related to each other. My husband is also my best friend. We trust each other with our lives. We live for each other."

And even if actions speak louder than words, she's telling the truth. The couple has since been remarkably romantic, jetting away to celebrate anniversaries and making time with their boys a priority. Just 18 months ago, the entire family celebrated Celine and Rene's 17-year anniversary with a family ski trip in Utah. "The twins play in the snow, we will make snowmen and Rene-Charles will learn to ski. It will be phenomenal!" the singer gushed to the Las Vegas Sun.

Sounds like a pretty good situation to us. Now that she has found the secret to a happy marriage, the Las Vegas headliner only wishes more people had discovered it as well.

"It's sad that so many people break up, their loving relationships end and divorce happens when, if there was proper communication, they would be able to hold on to the beauty of their early years together," she laments, but ends on a positive note. "We made it through, so everybody else can, too." And she's probably right — if she can get her mystery friend to start making house calls, that is.