Celine Dion Cries With Kathie Lee Gifford As They Discuss Their Husbands’ Deaths On ‘The Today Show’ [Video]
Celine Dion appeared alongside Kathie Lee Gifford on The Today Show on July 22, and the two got visibly emotional while discussing the recent loss of their late husbands.
Celine, who appeared on the NBC morning show to perform as part of The Today Show‘s annual summer concert series, co-hosted the final hour of the show alongside Kathie Lee, where Gifford and Dion got candid about the heart-breaking losses of their spouses, both of which took place within the past year.
“You have been, as I have been this past year, we’ve been on quite the journey. We are still on one,” Gifford told Dion as the two sat side by side, referring to Celine losing her husband Rene Angelil this past January as well as the death of her own husband, Frank Gifford, in August 2015.
Gifford then began to tear up as she and Celine discussed how she’s been coping with the loss in the seven months following Rene’s death, as Dion said, “I lost the man of my life, but I cannot live thinking this way. I have to say, ‘I found the best man in the world.'”
Celine then turned to a visibly emotional Kathie Lee, as Dion told her “Like you did for yourself. We were both extremely lucky.”
Celine, who has gotten candid about her husband of 22 years’ battle with throat cancer on a number of occasions in recent months, then opened up about how she’s been coping as a mother to her three children with Angelil, Rene-Charles, Nelson and Eddy, in the wake of Rene’s death.
“The luggage that we have, we will carry for the rest of our lives,” Dion said, “And show our kids that mom is fine, and you’re going to be okay.”
Dion’s co-host for the day, Kathie Lee, then admitted through tears following Celine’s heart-warming message, “we’re all going up someday.”
Gifford then went on to discuss the death of her own husband of 29 years, who NBC News reported last year passed away from “natural causes” just one week before his 85th birthday.
“If I concentrate on what I lost, then I will be in despair, but if I concentrate on what I still have, all of God’s blessings – I still have my beautiful children, my husband, the same way you do,” Kathie Lee told Celine during the candid conversation.
Admitting that she and her family are now “at peace” with Gifford’s death almost a year after he passed away, Kathie Lee then continued with Dion by her side, “We are in a state of what’s called grace, and I think that’s because God gives you what you need when you need it. We have actually been rejoicing as a family since Frank went to be with the Lord.”
As Celine Dion and Kathie Lee Gifford emotionally spoke about their husbands’ recent deaths during the emotional The Today Show segment, a tissue box was then lowered from the ceiling as Celine and Kathie Lee dabbed away their tears and shared a heart-warming embrace following the candid talk.
Celine also opened up about Rene’s death in a separate The Today Show segment prior to her emotional chat with Kathie Lee, telling host Matt Lauer that she’s feeling “wonderful,” “strong” and “good” just seven months after Angelil lost his battle with throat cancer.
“It’s been a journey, it’s been hard,” Dion said. “Seeing the love of your life suffering for the last three years has been really hard,” Celine admitted, “but millions of people are going through this and I feel very strong because, not only that he loved me so much… he gave me three magnificent kids.”
“I’m very thankful that the way that he passed was not dramatic in front of the children,” Dion admitted. “I’m very proud of myself because I think… we were always very 50/50, and I think he left the other 50 to me.”
What do you think of Celine Dion and Kathie Lee Gifford’s emotional The Today Show conversation about the death of their husbands?
[Photos by Jason Merritt/Getty Images for The UCLA Department of Head and Neck Surgery and Noam Galai/Getty Images for GIFF]
