Celine Dion Reveals She Kept Secret Stiff Person Syndrome Battle From Fans for 17 Years: ‘The Burden Was Too Much’ [Video]

In an interview with Hoda Kotb, the Canadian superstar describes the effects that a rare neurological condition have had on her voice and body.

Singer Celine Dion recently revealed that she hid her devastating battle with stiff person syndrome from her fans for 17 years.

In a surprising development to come more than two years after Dion, 56, announced that she was diagnosed with stiff person syndrome in December 2022, the My Heart Will Go On singer revealed that she first learned of the startling neurological disorder nearly two decades ago.

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

Dion shared the sudden revelation during a sit-down interview with Today host Hoda Kotb ahead of the interview’s premiere on Tuesday.

According to the beloved Think Twice singer, she decided to share her diagnosis with the world in December 2022 because “the burden was too much.”

“I could not do this anymore,” Dion told Kotb during their sit-down. “Lying for me, the burden was too much.”

Dion also explained how her late husband’s battle with throat cancer also factored into her decision to hide her own battle with stiff person syndrome. Dion’s husband, René Angélil, ultimately passed away from his battle with throat cancer in 2016.

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

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

The six-time Grammy winner also admitted that she hid her devastating diagnosis from her fans and those closest to her because she felt like she had to be a “hero” for her and Angélil’s three children in the wake of Angélil’s heartbreaking passing.

“I had to raise my kids, I had to hide, I had to try to be a hero – while feeling my body leaving me,” Dion explained. “I was holding on to my own dreams.”

“Lying to the people who got me to where I am today,” she added regarding her decision to share her diagnosis with the world in December 2022, “I could not do it anymore.”

Meanwhile, Kotb also discussed Dion’s stiff person syndrome revelation with her fellow Today co-hosts after a preview for the pair’s upcoming interview aired this week.

“She had it for 17 years and she didn’t know what was wrong and she was worried,” Hoda said. “Her voice was gone, her body was failing her, she was tripping and falling, all these things were happening.”

As previously reported, the revelation that Dion battled stiff person syndrome for nearly two decades before she shared her diagnosis with the world came just days after the singer also opened up about how the neurological disorder affects her voice.

Dion explained that her battle with stiff person syndrome made it feel like “somebody is strangling you” every time she attempts to perform.

“It’s like somebody is strangling you,” Dion told Kotb during another interview preview last week. “It’s like somebody is pushing your larynx and pharynx.”

“It’s like you’re talking like that,” she continued while applying pressure to her vocal cords, “and you cannot go higher or lower.”

via: RadarOnline.com

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