Sir Elton John’s ex-wife has launched legal proceedings against the musician after he made several mentions of her in his autobiography.
Former sound engineer Renate Blauel, 67, has applied for a High Court injunction against the 73-year-old Rocket Man singer.
It is understood that German-born Blauel and Sir Elton had agreed on what would be in his book ‘Me’ after she reminded him that they had signed a non-disclosure agreement after their split in 1988, according to The Sun.
Lawyers had thrashed out a deal over what could and could not be included, but Blauel is now seeking a High Court ruling.
Her lawyer told The Guardian that she hoped to ‘resolve it amicably’.
Injunctions are often pursued to stop material being made public.
Elton John and Renate Blauel married in Sydney’s St Mark’s church on Valentine’s Day in 1984
Celinde Schoenmaker playing Renate Blauel in Rocketman, last year’s Elton John biopic
Blauel met Sir Elton while he was recording his album Too Low for Zero in 1983.
They married in Sydney’s St Mark’s church on Valentine’s Day in 1984. Sir Elton was 36 at the time, and the couple was in Australia for his Too Low For Zero tour.
‘Me’ by singer-songwriter Elton John
They separated in 1988, around the same time that Sir Elton came out as gay. He went on to meet and marry his long-term partner David Furnish, with whom he has adopted sons Zachary and Elijah.
Blauel has kept a low public profile since the split. However, interest in their marriage was renewed last year after Sir Elton opened up about it in his autobiography and after their relationship was depicted in the movie Rocketman, in which Blauel was played by Celinde Schoenmaker.
When Sir Elton’s twins were born, he invited Blauel to come and meet them, though she declined, with the pop star saying he ‘respects her decision’.
Sir Elton revealed the pain he felt separating from Blauel in his autobiography, writing: ‘I’d broken the heart of someone I loved and who loved me unconditionally, someone I couldn’t fault in any way. Despite all the pain, there was no acrimony involved at all.
‘For years afterwards, whenever something happened to me, the press would turn up on her doorstep, looking for her to dish the dirt, and she never, ever has’.
After Sir Elton split from his ex-boyfriend John Reid, he spent an increasing amount of time with Blauel, a sound engineer he met in a recording studio.
Writing in his book, the singer-songwriter revealed that he asked Blauel to marry him even though ‘there hadn’t been any hint of actual romance between us’.
On their wedding night, they discussed the prospect of separating on their wedding night – and agreed to ‘never publicly discuss the intimate details of our marriage’.
Sir Elton was 36 at the time, and the couple were in Australia for his Too Low For Zero tour
Sir Elton met and married David Furnish (left) after coming out as gay in the late 1980s
The reason for Sir Elton’s decision to marry has long been a mystery but the singer later admitted he had been struggling with drug and alcohol addiction.
He explained his thinking in 2007: ‘A drug addict thinks like this: ”I’ve had enough boyfriends, and that’s not made me happy, so I’ll have a wife – that will change everything”. And I loved Renate. She’s a great girl. I really, really loved her.
‘But, you know … it is one of the things I regret most in my life, hurting her.’
Sir Elton said he did not have much contact with Blauel after the separation, but when he became a parent he invited her to his home so she could meet them.
She declined, he explained: ‘I didn’t push the issue. I have to respect how she feels.’
It had been a whirlwind romance for the singer and Ms Blauel, who had met in a London recording studio. Pictured kissing in 1984
Singer-songwriter Elton John wears an Eiffel Tower hat as he signs an autograph with Blauel
It had been a whirlwind romance for the singer and Blauel.
Sir Elton has since become of the world’s most recognisable gay icons but he did not come out as openly gay for many years.
Gary Clarke claimed he enjoyed a threesome with Sir Elton just two days before the singer took Blauel to an Indian restaurant in Sydney and proposed.
The star-studded wedding was arranged in just five days, with Clarke helping by going shopping with Blauel to help her choose a dress.
After the service the wedding party, which included Olivia Newton-John, John McEnroe and Sir Elton’s ex boyfriend John Reid, retired to the old Sebel Towers.
Guests ate oysters, flown in from New Zealand, lobster, prawns, scallops, lamb, crab, venison, beef, veal and quail and drank 1978 Le Montrachet Chateau des Hebeaux Jacques Prieur. The same bottle fetched more than $1,200 at auction in 2000.
The unlikely union of Blauel and Sir Elton stunned many of the singer’s close friends who had long assumed he was gay. Singer Rod Stewart famously told the couple: ‘You may be still standing, but we’re all on the f***ing floor.’
Elton John and his wife Renate Blauel party for the Film ’42nd Street’, London in 1984
Elton John with his then-wife Renate Blauel at a gala charity performance in May 1988
It wasn’t until 1988 that the flamboyant performer announced he was openly gay – around the same time the couple divorced.
Sir Elton broke his silence over the shock wedding while advocating for Australians to vote for same-sex marriage in 2017.
‘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,’ his Instagram post read.
‘To be worthy of someone’s love, you have to be brave enough and clear eyed enough to be honest with yourself and your partner.’
Sir Elton John and David Furnish pictured with their adopted sons Elijah and Zachary
In 2014 Sir Elton married long-term partner David Furnish, who he had been in a civil partnership with for nine years.
The couple have two sons – Zachary and Elijah.
Earlier this year he insisted he would never shout or hit either son if they misbehaved, and instead always endeavour to use calm words and discussion.
Sir Elton, whose temper was a feature of the 1997 documentary Tantrums & Tiaras, said he did not want the boys to endure the ‘fearful’ childhood that he experienced.