and David Furnish have been together for over 30 years having first met in 1993 at a dinner party. They entered a civil partnership in 2005 and married in 2014.
They are so entwined many people forget this isn’t Elton’s first marriage. Back in 1984, he tied the knot with German recording engineer Renate Blauel in a romantic Valentine’s Day wedding.
The couple only knew each other about 18 months when Elton proposed over curry at an Indian restaurant in Sydney where Elton was on the Australian leg of his Too Low for Zero tour. Just a week later the couple were married in St. Mark’s Church in the area of Darling Point in Sydney.
“I simply want to be a family man,” Elton said at the time. “And I’m not getting any younger.” Their wedding came in the aftermath of a tumultous five-year romance with his manager John Reid, who acted as best man for the couple.
“He’s the nicest guy I’ve ever met,” Renate told . “I’ve heard all sorts of stories about Elton and that he’s supposed to be bisexual, but that doesn’t worry me.” In 1976 Elton had revealed he was bisexual in an interview with Rolling Stone. But he had stressed: “I’d rather fall in love with a woman eventually because I think a woman probably lasts much longer than a man.”
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Elton John and Renate Blauel married in Australia on Valentine’s Day 1984 (Image: Getty)
He was proven wrong when the marriage only lasted four years. They divorced in 1988. Soon after came out as gay and he and David are now happily married and share sons Elijah and Zachary.
Elton has reaely spoken about the union but after decades of silence in 2017 he referred to it when urging Australians to vote in favour of same-sex marriage. the Rocket Man singer took to and wrote: “Many years ago, I chose Australia for my wedding to a wonderful woman for whom I have so much love and admiration.
“I wanted more than anything to be a good husband, but I denied who I really was, which caused my wife sadness, and caused me huge guilt and regret.”
He decided to open up about the union again in his 2019 autobioraphy Me and it featured in his 2020 biopic Rocketman. This proved too much for Renate who had never publicly spoken about the relationship and had stayed out of the public eye for decades and in June 2020 .
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Elton John and David furnish have been together over thirty years (Image: Getty)
According to reports she claimed the comments about her in Me, while positive, broke the non-disclosure agreement he signed after their divorce. Allegedly, the passages in the book “triggered long-standing” mental issues for the 67-year-old German.
They settled the case in October 2020 and spokesperson said: “The parties are happy to announce that they have resolved this case, in a way that acknowledges Renate’s need for privacy.
“For her part, Renate acknowledges that Elton has acted in a dignified and respectful way towards her in the last 30 years and has been always happy to help her.
“They will not be discussing each other, or their marriage, in future and will be making no further comment about the case.”