friend,” Céline said of Pepe, whom
many see as the man who saved her.
“He did so much for me,” she
continued, “for my mental health, my
spirituality, my inner strength.” After
they started stepping out together in
public — walking arm-in-arm around
Paris — reports began to swirl that she
and Pepe were more than just BFFs.
But Céline was quick to shoot them
down. “Pepe is gay!” she explained,
joking that she doesn’t mind the
rumors because “he’s handsome!”HER NEXT CHAPTER
With a new album due out this fall
— and a world tour set to kick off in
September — Céline feels she’s at her
“pinnacle” both professionally and
personally. “I feel happy [and] I feel
beautiful,” she recently said. “I’m not
planning on slowing down — I want to
have fun!”
She also intends to open up her
heart up again. “The buzz is that she’s
ready to find love,” shares the source,
adding that Céline has told friends
that she’s overcome the grief and guilt
she felt after losing her soulmate,
René, and feels like it could be time to
start a serious relationship withT
here’s no question the music power couple shared one
of the most enduring — and unique — romances in show
business. When Céline was just 12 years old, she sent
René, a successful Canadian music producer 26 years
her senior, a recording of her first song, and he was so
impressed he began working with her immediately. Things were
strictly professional between the pair until Céline turned 18.
Around that time, “my feelings started to change for him,” she said.
“I kind of saw him differently.” It wasn’t long before they started dating
— but the pair kept their relationship under wraps for five years, at René’s
request. "I was afraid of what people would think," he later admitted. But
René eventually proposed to Céline and the couple wed in December 1994 in a
lavish ceremony that was broadcast on Canadian national television. Though
they seemed to have the perfect marriage, Céline later confessed that things
weren’t always easy. “René and I had our tough times,” she shared, blaming poor communication. But the pair
worked through their issues. “[We’ve learned to] laugh, we joke [and] we kid each other,” she said shortly before
his death. “We want our marriage to last forever.”someone new. “She’s looking for a
man who has compassion and can
express himself. She’d love for him to
be financially secure and not
threatened by a woman who’s as
famous as she is. She also doesn’t
mind if he’s younger — spending time
with Pepe has taught her that.”
According to the source, Pepe’s even
acting as her wingman. “He’s
introducing Céline to different guys.
They’re so close that he has a very
good idea what she likes and doesn’t
like, and she trusts his judgment.”
Those close to the vocal
powerhouse are thrilled to see her
happy again. “She has an excitement
about life that her friends and family
haven’t seen in a long time,” says the
source. “She’ll always miss René, but
she made it through the storm. She’s
ready for a new beginning.”
Céline herself has made that clear.
“You cannot stop living,” she
explained. “We all go through a lot of
things in life, whether it’s a sickness or
something we have to fight. But life
has given me the tools — my family
and the way I was raised — to
[discover] my inner strength [and]
find the courage to keep going.”ne
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afifinndthecouragetokeepg OK!nButthepaiirCÉLINE & RENÉ
THE POWER
OF LOVE