Celine Dion Announces She Has Lived With Illness For 17 Years Before Going Public With Her Condition

Celine Dion, a renowned Canadian singer, has openly discussed her secret battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, a condition she hid from the public eye for 17 years before finally going public with her diagnosis in 2022.

In her recent interview with Hoda Kotb on the Today Show, Celine Dion shared that she was quietly fighting her own health battle with Stiff Person Syndrome, all while supporting her late husband Rene Angelil through his cancer journey and raising their kids.

She explained that her symptoms started as far back as 2008 but wasn’t diagnosed until 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.

Following the passing of her husband René, Celine Dion faced the challenge of solo parenting their three children – René-Charles (23), Nelson (13), and Eddy (13) – while navigating the demands of her career, all the while concealing her increasingly fragile health from the public eye.

“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.” Eventually, the “lying” became “too much”, and she decided she could no longer keep the truth from her fans.

Celine Dion revealed that she finally shared her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome because hiding it from “the people who got her to where she was” was a huge “burden”, a weighty secret that she could no longer carry, and she felt a need to release that burden by being open and honest about her health.

Celine Dion recently stated that her Stiff Person Syndrome feels like she’s “being strangled”.

She shared that her struggles with Stiff Person Syndrome have led to frequent cramping and even instances of rib fractures.

Hoda Kotb, while recapping the emotional interview on the Today show, shared that Celine had battled the disease for 17 years, during which she experienced severe symptoms like losing her voice, her body failing her, and frequent tripping and falling. Despite the severity of her condition, Celine is “on the road” to recovery.

Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) is a rare autoimmune disorder that causes the immune system to attack healthy tissues, leading to muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen over time.

People with SPS can experience a range of symptoms, including; Stiff muscles in the trunk, arms, and legs, greater sensitivity to noise, touch, and emotional distress, which can set off muscle spasms, over time, people with SPS may develop hunched-over postures, frequent falls due to lack of normal reflexes. 

SPS is often misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, psychosomatic illness, or anxiety and phobia. A definitive diagnosis can be made with a blood test that measures the level of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibodies.

While there is no cure, treatments can slow the symptoms, and Celine is exploring these options. She continued to perform until 2022, when she announced her diagnosis and cancelled all upcoming shows.

In her NBC interview, Celine described the difficulty of singing with the condition, comparing it to feeling like “somebody is strangling you” and pushing on her larynx and pharynx, making it hard to control her pitch due to spasms. She is undergoing “athletic, physical and vocal therapy” five days a week to combat the symptoms.

Celine Dion is also preparing to release a tell-all documentary, I Am: Celine Dion, which offers a heartbreaking glimpse into her health battle.