Céline Dion Kept Her Illness A Secret For Nearly 2 Decades - Here’s Why She Finally Revealed Her Truth!

Céline Dion bore the burden of her health issues in secret for YEARS before she came forward with the truth… and that’s because it became too difficult to do so.

In a new clip from her upcoming interview with Hoda Kotb for Today, the Power of Love songstress opened up about fighting her ailment in secret for the better part of two decades. In the clip, which was shared on X (Twitter) on Monday, Céline revealed that for a period of time before her Stiff Person Syndrome diagnosis, she “did not know what was going on” — which made it difficult to be transparent with fans. She explained:

“What do you want me to say? ‘I have, uh…’ What? We did not know what was going on. I did not take the time, I should have stopped, take the time to figure it out.”

She first began experiencing symptoms in 2008, but with her late husband René Angélil also struggling with his own health issues and raising their children, she opted to hide her truth from fans:

“My husband as well, was fighting for his own life. I had to raise my kids, I had to hide, I had to try to be a hero.”

How difficult… But when she got her official diagnosis and her symptoms worsened, she could not stand to lie to fans any longer:

“Feeling my body leaving me, holding onto my own dreams, and lying for me was — the burden was too much. Lying to the people who got me where I am today. I could not do it anymore.”

Céline eventually went public with her Stiff Person Syndrome diagnosis in 2022 — six years after her husband passed away. And now she’s really opening up about that ordeal. Watch the interview clip (below):

In an exclusive interview with TODAY, singer Celine Dion reveals why she decided to come forward with her diagnosis for stiff person syndrome. "I could not do this anymore," she says, adding, "Lying for me, the burden was too much." pic.twitter.com/LJvUrcFjpO

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) June 10, 2024