Whenit comes to Celine Dion’s household, there is no man of the house. Over a yearsince the tragic passing of her beloved husband René Angélil, the Power ofLove 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 gavethe rest of his 50 percent for me to be complete, to continue the rest of mylife, to feel strong and to believe that I can still do this and he will alwaysbe with me," the mom-of-three —René-Charles, 16, Eddy, six, and Nelson,six — told Entertainment Tonight.
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"I feelstronger," Celine added. "He gave me the rest of him. I feelstronger, I step forward. I say what I mean, I mean what I say. I stand up formy kids and I feel like I'm the leader of the family." Despite the absenceof a family patriarch, the Grammy winner does not want her eldest son, René-Charles, tofill 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 sufferbecause I told them the truth.” "Now I have to stand up for myself andsay, 'I'm not sure. I need time,'" she continued, "and I take moretime, because before, I didn't even have any questions."
GALLERY: CELINE DION'S EMOTIONAL YEAR
Photo: Denise Truscello
Rene lost his longbattle 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 tothe video that showed memories from the music producer’s childhood and withfamily, a message read: “Today, January 14th, it’s been a yearsince 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 justmove on. Yesterday is over, tomorrow is not here yet, so today is today.”