Celine Dion admits her marriage "wasn't always easy".
The Canadian singer has been married to talent manager Rene Angelil, 71, for 18 years, with whom she has three sons, Rene Charles, 12, and twins Eddy and Nelson, two, but claims she only learnt how to communicate with him properly in the last seven years.
The 45-year-old star said: "Rene and I had our tough times. It wasn't always easy. We had tension between us. It's never easy being husband and wife, but add to that we are in business together, dealing with all the added pressures of shows, concerts, tours, traveling. It was hard -- a lot of hard work.
"Up until seven years ago, we weren't communicating properly.
"I was old school and kept it hidden. Forget about it, and it will go away. I talked about it with my best girlfriend, and she taught me it never goes away. It sits there and gets worse. She taught me how to say things the right way.
"It changed the way we related to each other. My husband is also my best friend. We trust each other with our lives. We live for each other."
Celine insists her marriage is now stronger and more enjoyable than ever before.
She told Vegas Deluxe: "We laugh. We joke. We kid each other. We want our marriage to last forever. Talk over everything and you'll find you are still on the honeymoon . . . It's the secret."
The 'My Heart Will Go On' hitmaker added: "It's sad that so many people break up, their loving relationships end and divorce happens when, if there was proper communication, they would be able to hold on to the beauty of their early years together. We made it through, so everybody else can, too."
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