Elton John’s ex-wife attempted suicide three days into their honeymoon after he told her their marriage wasn’t working, court told
Elton John was married to Renate Blauel for four years. (Getty)
Elton John’s ex-wife Renate Blauel attempted suicide on their honeymoon in 1984, she has claimed in High Court documents.
Blauel is suing the singer, who she was married to for four years, for a reported £3 million after he wrote about their relationship in his memoir, allegedly breaking an agreement they struck following their 1988 divorce to not discuss their relationship in public.
She has claimed that renewed interest in their relationship brought about by the book, Me, and the 2019 biopic Rocketman would have caused her distress, something she says John should have been aware of owing to her history of mental ill-health.
According to a High Court filing reported by The Times Wednesday (August 26), Blauel battled depression and anxiety throughout their marriage, and attempted suicide three days into their honeymoon.
The German former sound engineer claimed while holidaying in St Tropez “approximately five or six months after their wedding”, John told her “without any forewarning” that their marriage wasn’t working.
That evening, she says, she was rushed to hospital by John’s assistant, who was on their honeymoon with them, following a suicide attempt.
Elton John and Renate Blauel. (Patrick Riviere/Getty)
Blauel claims John “became angry” after hearing about this, and alleges he didn’t visit her during her two-day stay in hospital.
“Upon being discharged and, it is to be inferred, on the instructions of the defendant, Mr Halley met the claimant at the hospital with her luggage and drove her straight to the airport where she boarded a flight back to London,” the filing reads.
“After approximately one to two weeks, she was permitted to re-join the defendant on the honeymoon.”
Elton John claims ex-wife wants to ‘tarnish his name’.
Elton John’s lawyer Jenny Afia responded to the allegation by saying he has “always respected Renate’s privacy and will continue to do so”.
“It is well documented that their marriage was completely respectful and the relationship both Elton and Renate had after they divorced continued to be kind, respectful and honourable for the 30 years following,” she continued.
“It will be established in the case that there were multiple affectionate correspondences from Renate direct to Elton during this time.
“We also find it baffling that this claim is centred around privacy when at every stage of these proceedings Renate has chosen to file these claims in the public domain (when she could have chosen to keep them confidential) about supposed experiences that happened during their marriage which completely goes against the entire grounds of the case.
“This only goes to show the true purpose of this claim which is to extract a large sum of money from Elton and tarnish his name publicly with falsehoods.”
Elton John with his husband David Furnish. (Getty)
After their eventual divorce, Blauel claims the former couple agreed they would not discuss their relationship. She says featuring their marriage in his autobiography triggered long-standing mental health issues.
Since their split Blauel has shunned the limelight. In 2001 she changed her name by deed poll and lied to friends about relocating to Germany in order to shed her former connections to John, court filings say. She has temporarily reverted back to Blauel while suing her ex-husband to protect her identity.
As well as the reported sum, she is also seeking to prevent any future editions or adaptations of his memoirs from discussing their marriage.
PinkNews has contacted John’s representatives for further comment.
