Elton John says his mother ‘ruined’ the day of his civil partnership with ‘mild homophobia’
Sir Elton John with his husband David Furnish at their Civil Partnership Ceremony in 2005. (WireImage/ Mike Marsland)
Elton John says his mother “ruined” the day of his civil partnership to husband David Furnish with “mild homophobia”.
Speaking at YouTube Pride 2021, John said his Sheila Farebrother’s reaction to their civil partnership in 2005 was “a big shock” as she had been “so supportive” when he came out as gay.
“Families can be very pro or very anti. My family, my mother and my stepfather, were very, very easy with me coming out,” he said, according to Metro.
“When I wanted to have my civil partnership – when I was about to have my civil partnership – my mother was so against it, because it’s officially admitting that you’re gay.
“It was so upsetting, she kind of ruined my day. Our day, rather, by her attitude. And for all those years I thought she was so supportive and in the background there was a mild homophobia going on within her.
“Because I was actually tying the knot with David and then getting married a few years later, she didn’t approve of it at all. And that came as a big shock to me.”
Furnish added that while the “rejection” from a family member was “a very, very hard thing to take”, he felt it was “more than compensated for by the friends who came and supported us on the day”.
Elton John and David Furnish got married in 2014.
Elton John and David Furnish were among some of the first Britons to have a civil partnership, having dated for around 12 years.
They later held their wedding on the ninth anniversary of their civil partnership, shortly after same-sex marriage was legalised in the UK in 2014. They have two children together.
In December, on the 15th anniversary of their civil partnership and sixth anniversary of their wedding, John shared on Instagram: “Our relationship gets stronger every day, and I am extremely grateful for the love we share and our two beautiful sons.
“However, we are the lucky ones, as millions of gay people throughout the world are discriminated against because of their sexuality. This is a disgrace.
“We all deserve to love who we want. We will continue to fight for equality for all.”
