Celine Dion: Keeping Stiff-Person Syndrome Battle Private Felt Like 'Lying'

Céline Dion said she decided to share her stiff-person syndrome diagnosis because being silent on her health issues felt like she was "lying" to her fans.

In an NBC interview, the Grammy-winning singer, who was diagnosed in 2022, shared that she initially tried to push through her early symptoms. Her focus was on her late husband René Angélil, who died in 2016 from throat cancer, and three sons René-Charles, 23, and her 13-year-old twins, Nelson and Eddy, according to USA Today.

Looking back, she said she "did not take the time" to understand her own health concerns.

"I should have stopped," she told "Today" host Hoda Kotb in a preview of the interview set to air Tuesday.

"My husband as well was fighting for his own life. I had to raise my kids. I had to hide. I had to try to be a hero. Feeling my body leaving me, holding on to my own dreams," she said. "And the lying for me was … the burden was too much."

Dion further stated that she could not handle "lying to the people who got me where I am today."

In April, she opened up about the early stages of diagnosis and the despair she felt during an interview with Vogue France.

"At the beginning, I would ask myself: Why me? How did this happen? What have I done? Is this my fault?" she said.

"Life doesn't give you any answers. You just have to live it! I have this illness for some unknown reason," she continued. "The way I see it, I have two choices. Either I train like an athlete and work superhard, or I switch off and it's over, I stay at home, listen to my songs, stand in front of my mirror and sing to myself. I've chosen to work with all my body and soul, from head to toe, with a medical team. I want to be the best I can be. My goal is to see the Eiffel Tower again!"

She added, "I have this strength within me. I know that nothing is going to stop me."