Celine Dion: “I kept my illness a secret for 17 years before coming clean.”

Celine Dion: “I kept my illness a secret for 17 years before coming clean.”

Celine Dion revealed to the public that she has been hiding her battle with stiff person syndrome for the past 17 years.

This week, during an appearance with Hoda Kotb on the Today Show, Dion disclosed that she was fighting the disease covertly while also taking care of her late husband Rene Angelil’s cancer and raising their kids.

The 56-year-old singer said that she has been having symptoms since 2008. She initially disclosed her diagnosis in 2022.

“We did not know what was going on [with me]. I did not take the time… I should have stopped, took the time to figure it out,” she said.

“And like it wasn’t enough, my husband as well is fighting for his own life.

“I had to raise my kids, I had to hide, I had to try to be a hero – while feeling my body leaving me,’ she continued. ‘[I was] holding on to my own dreams.”

The crooner of “Think Twice” revealed that she eventually shared her illness with others because concealing it from “the people who got her to where she was” was a significant “burden.”

Recently, Celine Dion said that she feels like she’s “being strangled” due to her Stiff Person Syndrome.

She continued by saying that she had broken a few ribs and frequently experienced cramping.