Celine Dion's husband and former manager Ren Anglil died on Thursday after a long battle with throat cancer, her rep confirmed to The Huffington Post. He was 73 years old.

"Rene Angelil, 73, passed away this morning as his home in Las Vegas after a long and courageous battle against cancer," his rep said in a statement via email. "The family requests that their privacy be respected at the moment; more details will be provided at a later time."

Dion's team also shared news of his death on her Facebook page:

Anglil got his start in the music industry in the 1960s singing with the Montral pop group, "The Baronets," before going on to manage artists in the 1970s. But it was a 12-year-old girl he met in 1980 who would go on to be not only his biggest client, but his third wife. Anglil and Dion married in December 1994 and welcomed their son Ren-Charles in 2001 , followed by fraternal twins Eddy and Nelson in 2010.