Rene Angelil, Celine Dion’s husband and longtime manager, has passed away.

In a short statement released on her website on Thursday, a family rep said, ‘René Angélil, 73, passed away this morning at 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.’

Angelil had managed Dion’s singing career since she was 12 years old, and coached her into learning English so that she could break out from her native French Quebec, Canada to the international scene. They later got married in 1994, when he was 51 and Dion 25.

In 1998, doctors diagnosed Angelil with throat cancer. He went on to achieve a full recovery, but the cancer kept recurring over the years, to a point that Dion had to halt her music career back in August 2014 in order to take care of him. He stepped down as her manager that same year.

Angelil fathered three sons with Dion: a 14-year old and 5-year old twins. He also has three other children from two previous marriages.

He was 73.

[Photo: Getty]

The post Celine Dion’s Husband Rene Angelil Dies of Cancer appeared first on ENTmania.com.