The singer said her oldest son is not the man of the house.© FilmMagic

Celine Dion on why her oldest son René-Charles won't be the man of the house


FEBRUARY 23, 2017 6:00 PM EST

When it comes to Celine Dion’s household, there is no man of the house. Over a year since the tragic passing of her beloved husband René Angélil, the Power of Love singer admitted that she has become the “leader” of her family. "When [René] left, he came inside of all of my kids' hearts and mine, he gave the rest of his 50 percent for me to be complete, to continue the rest of my life, to feel strong and to believe that I can still do this and he will always be with me," the mom-of-three —René-Charles, 16, Eddy, six, and Nelson, six — told  Entertainment Tonight. 

The music producer lost his battle with throat cancer last January.© GettyImages

"I feel stronger," Celine added. "He gave me the rest of him. I feel stronger, I step forward. I say what I mean, I mean what I say. I stand up for my kids and I feel like I'm the leader of the family." Despite the absence of a family patriarch, the Grammy winner does not want her eldest son, René-Charles, to fill in his father’s shoes. “My oldest, 16, is not the man of the house [because] you have to have your own dreams. And the twins, they didn't suffer because I told them the truth.” "Now I have to stand up for myself and say, 'I'm not sure. I need time,'" she continued, "and I take more time, because before, I didn't even have any questions."

© Denise Truscello

Rene lost his long battle with throat cancer last January. Celine marked the one-year anniversary of his death with a moving video montage of her late husband’s life. Attached to the video that showed memories from the music producer’s childhood and with family, a message read: “Today, January 14th, it’s been a year since René left us. He will always be in our hearts. - Team Céline ❤.” Celine previously opened up about her brood was coping with their devastating loss. “We are healing each day,” she said. “My kids are doing really well and eventually you have to just move on. Yesterday is over, tomorrow is not here yet, so today is today.”