Elton John’s ex-wife Renate Blauel has launched legal action against the “Rocketman” in London’s High Court.
The German-born sound engineer filed paperwork last week to seek an injunction against the legendary British singer, according to various reports.
The reasons behind the legal action remain unclear, though such cases are typically grounded in privacy matters or to prevent the publication of personal materials.
Blauel’s lawyer confirmed to The Guardian that his client hoped the matter would be resolved “amicably,” but declined to elaborate on the case.
John and Blauel became close during the recording sessions for his 1983 album Too Low for Zero album and the pair tied the knot the following year at a ceremony on Valentine’s Day in Sydney, footage of which aired live on Australian TV. The marriage wouldn’t last, and the pair amicably divorced four years later, in 1988.
John later came out as gay and went on marry David Furnish.
Blauel has kept a low profile since their split, though their brief relationship was thrust back into the spotlight in the 2019 biopic Rocketman, in which she was played by Dutch actress Celinde Schoenmaker.
In his 2019 memoir, Me, John reflected on the failed marriage and the pain he caused.
“It was the right thing to do, but it was a horrible feeling,” he wrote. “I’d broken the heart of someone I loved and who loved me unconditionally, someone I couldn’t fault in any way,” he wrote. “She could have taken me to the cleaners, and I wouldn’t have blamed her: everything that had gone wrong was down to me and me alone. But Renate was too dignified and too decent for that.”
John is named as the defendant in the legal filings, the BBC reports. His representatives declined to comment further.
