Celine Dion's husband dies aged 73

Celine Dion's husband René Angélil has died at the age of 73 after a lengthy battle against throat cancer.

René, who acted as a mentor and manager to Celine, had been battling throat cancer since 2013 but lost the fight on Thursday morning.

His representative told People in a statement: "Rene Angelil, 73, passed away this morning as his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer. The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment; more details will be provided at a later time."

René had been undergoing treatment for the disease, but his struggle was very difficult on Celine as well as the pair's three children - 14-year-old son, Rene, and five-year-old fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson.

He also has three grown up children from a previous relationship - Anne-Marie, Patrick and Jean-Pierre.

Celine took a break from her residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace Las Vegas Hotel and Casino last year when René's illness worsened, but returned to the stage in August.

She previously revealed it was her spirituality that has helped her to cope during her spouse's health struggles.

Speaking to Taste of Life magazine, Celine - who was raised a Roman Catholic - revealed: "Life is not always perfect. You have to deal with it. Whatever life imposes - sickness, or whatever, you don't have a choice. This is life, this is nature. But you do have the choice on how you're going to go through this. And if you don't have spirituality you're going to fall apart before things happen. I am very spiritual. I believe in myself, I believe in my family, and I'm positive. Through this, you show your children how to deal with things, and how to be strong."

René was first diagnosed with throat cancer in April 1998 but made a full recovery from the illness before contracting it again in December 2013.

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