Celine Dion finally opens up about her relationship with Pepe Munoz
It’s been three years since Celine Dion lost her husband René Angélil, and in that time there’s been a constant male companion by her side, Pepe Munoz. The dancer most recently appeared arm-in-arm with the singer at Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week, sparking rumours the duo were more than just friends.
But in a new and revealing interview with The Sun, the "My Heart Will Go On" singer insists she and the 34-year-old aren't an item. “We’re friends, we’re best friends. Of course we hug and hold hands and go out, so people see that. I mean, he’s a gentleman. He’s giving me his hand to go out,” she said. “I don’t mind because he’s handsome and he’s my best friend.”
Celine and Pepe strolled arm-in-arm through Paris. Photo: © Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
She continued: “We bonded right away as friends, we had a good time. It evolved… But when people started to take pictures and it was like, ‘Who’s that guy? Rene?’ Let’s not mix everything.”
The busy mother of three went on to say that though she misses her late-husband dearly and she’s happy he’s at peace. “Knowing that now he’s in peace and is resting and is always within me. I see him every day through the eyes of my children. He gave me so much strength.”
She added that she's enjoying this moment in her life: "To be honest, I think I'm at the best of my life right now and I want to enjoy and embrace every moment of it and really enjoy it. It's like I'm having a second wind, like I'm having the wind beneath my wings. I'm having a good time."
The two hammed it up for photographers at the Alexandre Vauthier show.
Photo: © Getty Images
Pepe and Celine first met through mutual friends in Las Vegas, where the Quebec-native has a residency at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace (ending June 2019). It was then that she asked the Spaniard to join her on her international tour, he told Vogue back in 2017 – and it’s obvious why they became fast friends!
Both share a love of high fashion (and according to their recent photos, a good sense of humour!), and she happily took him under her wing.
“She’s the kind of person [for whom] the day has no schedule, no time, no nothing, so whenever she feels the creativity coming, that’s what happens,” he told the magazine of his dance rehearsals with her. “I’m going to be honest, I was freaking out… Then five minutes into it, she makes you feel welcome, like you belong to the family, and like you’re part of the group.”
