René Angélil, 74, is battling throat cancer, and 47-year-old Celine has confessed she felt guilty returning to her residency in Las Vegas following his emotional plea.
Speaking to USA Today, Celine said: “I’ll say, ‘You’re scared? Talk to me about it. And René says, ‘I want to die in your arms’.
‘Ok, fine, I’ll be there, you’ll die in my arms’, I say.
“We have asked [doctors] many time, how long does he have, three weeks, three months? René wants to know, but they say they don’t know.”
Although Celine, who has three children with René, finds it difficult to go to work and leave him, she revealed he doesn’t want her to stop.
She continued: “Don’t forget, he’s been the leader of the band all my life. So it [hacks] him off to not see me all day. But he wants me to do this, do the show, do the interviews. But he freaks when I’m not home with him.”
Celine, who is one of the world’s best-selling artists, took a break from her residency at Caesars Palace earlier this year.
In a statement she said: “I want to devote every ounce of my strength to my husband’s healing, and to do so, it’s important for me to dedicate this time to him and to our children.
“I also want to apologise to all my fans everywhere, for inconveniencing them, and I thank them so much for their love and support.”
Celine and René married in 1994, and share children René-Charles, 14, and four-year-old twins Nelson and Eddy.