Elton John’s Ex-Wife Files Injunction Against Him

Elton John's ex-wife, Renate Blauel, is seeking a high court injunction against the musician, according to court documents seen by The Guardian. Elton and the German-born recording engineer met while she was an assistant engineer on Elton's 1983 Too Low For Zero album, which was recorded at George Martin's exclusive AIR Studios Montserrat.

The couple was married from 1984 to 1988, and in the ensuing years, Blauel has not spoken publically about the marriage — although Elton, who is now remarried to husband David Furnish, and the father of two children — has spoken lovingly of her in both his recent memoir, Me, and portrayed her in kind in his Rocketman biopic. It is estimated that rather than “taking Elton top the cleaners” during their divorce, Blauel received a one-time payout of between $6 and 12 million dollars.

According to The Guardian: “The reason for the injunction application is unclear, but the approach is often taken in relation to privacy matters or to prevent publication of material. Blauel’s lawyer confirmed she had filed the paperwork. He declined to expand on why she had felt the need to seek a high court injunction against her ex-husband after decades of silence, but said she was 'hoping to resolve it amicably.'”

According to Britain's Daily Mail, a source close to Blauel “confirms that the injunction relates to the book, which will come out in paperback this autumn. (Though why it has taken her eight months since the hardback was published to respond to its references to her remains a mystery.) There is a belief that the book violates a non-disclosure agreement which both parties signed when dissolving their marriage in 1988.”

Not long before the couple parted ways, Elton spoke of his and Renate Blauel whirlwind romance and wedding: “As I said before, in the five or six gut instincts in things in my life, I knew we had to do (marry). And we'd never been out together — except, more or less for the time, once in Montserrat and once in Sydney when I proposed. And that was a matter it. So, no, it was. . . that was great. The whole thing was superb.”