Celine Dion’s heart isn’t quite ready to go on.
The Canadian singer spoke to the “Today” show in an interview that aired Wednesday, talking candidly about life after her husband, René Angélil, died battling throat cancer in 2016.
“I don’t date. I’m not ready to date. I’m very lucky and happy to have so many people in my surrounding to make me ... They make me laugh, but I miss to be touched,” she told the show.
“I miss to be hugged. I missed to be told, ‘You’re beautiful.’ I miss what a boyfriend and I miss what a husband would do,” she said.
Earlier in the segment, Dion shared that Angélil left a message before he died that she still revisits.
“He called me before a show and give me a little message: ‘I love you,’” said the 51-year-old. “And when I came home that night, it was very, very late and I didn’t want to come and wake him up to give him a kiss, to wake him up and then he can’t find sleep again. And the next morning, he was gone. So, we talked before. And he sent me a text message. So we said goodbye.”
Dion says that despite everything, “It’s life.” She knows that the courage she now has, Angélil “has given it to me all my life.”
The singer and Angélil had three children together — René-Charles and twins Nelson and Eddy — and were together for more than 20 years. On the anniversary of her husband’s death this year, Dion shared an emotional post on Instagram in his memory.
“My dearest René....always with me.....always will be,” she wrote alongside a photograph of Angélil.