Celine Dion battled with her grief as she returned to the Caesars Palace's Colosseum in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, to celebrate the life of her late husband René Angélil.
It's been three weeks since the music producer and manager - who had been battling throat cancer since 1998 - died two days shy of his 74th birthday, but Dion, 47, said she could 'feel his love' in the room.
She went on to describe how Angélil protected her in the early days of her career.
'I was never part of any of the meetings that he had where he had to say yes or no. He protected me from Day one to for the rest of my life, I am pretty sure of that,' she said.
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Emotional: Celine Dion returned to Caesars Palace's Colosseum in Las Vegas, on Wednesday, to celebrate the life of her late husband René Angélil - who died three weeks ago after battling throat cancer since 1998
All too much? As the show drew to a close, the 47-year-old singer appeared to buckle under the weight of her emotions. She broke down in tears while paying a tender tribute to 'mon amour (my love)'
Emotional: She closed the memorial battling back tears, saying: 'On behalf of my family, thank you again for being here with us this evening for this beautiful tribute to mon amour. René I love you, so much, merci'
The couple met when Dion was just 12-years-old with Angélil becoming her manager and mortgaging his home to help her make her first record.
They had a secret affair that began seven years later but they didn't go public for another five in fear of criticism over their age gap.
They were married in a lavish wedding broadcast on Canadian TV in December 1994. At first Dion's mother wouldn't approve of the couple but eventually came to accept him as her son-in-law while Celine referred to him as 'the only boyfriend I ever had'.
Wednesday was the first time Dion has publicly spoken about her husband's passing.
At a moving public funeral in Montreal on January 22, it was the couple's teen son Rene Charles who gave his father's eulogy and captured hearts around the world with his moving speech.
As the Las Vegas event drew to a close, the singer appeared to buckle under the weight of her emotions, as she broke down in tears while paying a tender tribute to 'mon amour (my love)'.
Taking to the stage in a black strapless ballgown, clearly still in mourning for her husband's passing, the My Heart Will Go On hit-maker closed the memorial service with a poignant thank you.
Guests from across the Las Vegas entertainment industry came together to praise and remember René at the celebration, which was streamed live.
Taking to the stage following a round of speeches honoring her late husband's extraordinary character, the pop star was visibly moved by what she had heard.
Making a short speech to the assembled 4,000 strong crowd, she tentatively began: 'This is my home away from home.
'At the same time I'm supposed to feel extremely comfortable being home and right now I'm not sure how comfortable I feel.'
The five-time Grammy winner – who's brother Daniel died just two days after René - was the final speaker at the memorial, and was clearly touched by the tributes paid to her husband.
'I feel his love in this room. I feel his strength and his warmth being reflected in all of you,' she said as her voice began to quiver. 'René always surrounded me with the best people who believed in us and always worked so hard on our behalf.'
'The love of my life ... would be so happy to know we are all here together telling stories, sharing memories, playing some of his favorite music. And especially in this beautiful theater which many years ago was one of his dreams come true.'
'I feel his strength and his warmth being reflected in all of you': Making a short speech to the assembled 4,000 strong crowd, she fought back tears while paying tribute to the guests and her late husband
'Goodbye mon amour': Celine was joined at the emotional event by her eldest child, Rene-Charles Angelil, as well as other members of Rene's family
'I feel his love in this room': Taking to the stage following speeches honoring Rene's character, the pop star was visibly moved by what she had heard, as she declared she could feel his presence in the room
Lighter moments: The family were able to smile as amusing stories about René were shared by his closest friends and associates
Battling to hold back the tears beginning to build in her eyes, she kept her thanks short and heartfelt.
She closed the memorial by saying: 'On behalf of my family, thank you again for being here with us this evening for this beautiful tribute to mon amour. René I love you, so much, merci, good night.'
She was joined on the stage by the couple's eldest son, Rene-Charles, 15, as well as his half-brother Patrick, Jean-Pierre and half-sister Anne-Marie Angelil.
Music producer and singer/song-writer David Foster performed at the memorial while the star's well-known hit 'Because you Loved Me' was played in an interlude between speeches.
The French-Canadian couple had just celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary on December 17.
!['[Our] beautiful tribute to mon amour': It's been three weeks since Celine Dion's husband- who battled throat cancer since 1998 - died two days shy of his 74th birthday](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uG3kgwihn5JngGvkwjpPT0FhC5K5R_LUa531JMa4FezQrJXVScOKqwvqVYUylR3s6PwcrLH2Hc7A=s0-d)
'[Our] beautiful tribute to mon amour': It's been three weeks since Celine Dion's husband- who battled throat cancer since 1998 - died two days shy of his 74th birthday
A moving tribute from a friend: Music producer and singer/song-writer David Foster performed a song at the memorial
Moved to tears: David, 66, hugged Celine following his performance, as the singer began to break down in tears
Memories were shared from guests ranging from Dion’s longtime agent and friends in the music business to Caesars executives and a Las Vegas charity for people with disabilities.
They all described a man who was kind, generous and completely devoted to his wife and her talent. Angelil loved his family, gambling and dining and entertaining.
To underscore his influence, longtime associate and friend Paul Farberman said at the memorial that the “Titanic” deal was far from certain when Dion was first approached to sing the theme song.
She rolled her eyes when she first heard it played on the piano, and there were questions about the negative press the movie had gotten on reports that it was over budget and had on-set fighting.
'It didn’t look like this was going to be a big success story,' Farberman said of the movie.
'And I’ll never forget how Rene literally stood up from the table and he said ‘I’m a gambler and I’m going to bet on this one.’ And of course, the rest is history.'
The Québec-born beauty is now widowed mother to their fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson, 5, and son René-Charles Jr., 15.
Life-long companions: Celine was famously only 12 years old when twice-divorced René declared her a star and became her mentor/manager (pictured in 1982)
Rest in peace: The French-Canadian couple had just celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary on December 17 (pictured in 1994)
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