Céline Dion is paying tribute to her late husband, René Angélil.
On Tuesday, Jan. 14, the legendary singer, 56, shared a snap with her three sons to mark the ninth anniversary of Angélil’s death. He died of throat cancer in 2016 at the age of 73.
“René, we can’t believe you’ve been gone nine years already,” Dion wrote. “Not a day goes by that we don’t feel your presence, RC, Eddy, Nelson and I. You were my greatest champion, my partner, and the one who always saw the best in me. I honor you and you are forever missed mon amour…. We love you. —Celine xx…”
In the photo, Dion sported a cream sweater and sweatpants as she smiled beside her and Angélil’s sons René-Charles, 23, and twins Nelson and Eddy, 14.
Céline Dion and René Angélil at 2000 Nabisco Golf Championship at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California. Sam Levi/WireImage
Dion first met Angélil, who was her manager, when she was 12 years old and he was 38.
“While I was singing he started to cry,” Dion told PEOPLE in 1994 of their first meeting. “I knew then I had done a good job.”
Angélil loved her performance so much that he mortgaged his home so he could fund the star’s debut album La voix du bon Dieu, which turned out to be a success in Québec.
They then went on their first official romantic date when Dion was 19.
“We kind of kept it cool because of my career. I was living that love secretly,” Dion said in 2016. “When I was at the age to be able to say to people … It was like bang! Love! Love always wins.”
René Angélil and Celiné Dion at the 2007 American Music Awards. Kevin Winter/AMA/Getty
The pair went on to get married at the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal on Dec. 17, 1994.
The lavish ceremony, which was broadcast live on Canadian television, saw Dion walk in a luxurious Mirella and Steve Gentile gown and a Swarovski crystal headdress.
The couple went on to welcome their son René-Charles in 2001 and twin sons Nelson and Eddy in 2010.
Back in December, Dion marked what would have been her 30th wedding anniversary with Angélil.
“You still fill our hearts, every day. You are everything for us. We miss you so much. Happy 30th anniversary, mon amour,” her caption read as she shared a black and white snap of the pair from their wedding day. “Celine xx… René-Charles, Eddy and Nelson.”
