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In post about marriage equality, Elton John opens up about his first wedding, to a woman

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In 1976, Elton John told Rolling Stone he was bisexual.  Then, when he got married in 1984, it was to a woman: a German recording engineer named Renate Blauel.  They split after four years, and Elton then declared that he was “comfortable” identifying not as bisexual, but as gay. 

In a new Instagram post, Elton uses that experience to reflect on the issue of marriage equality, which is coming up for a vote in Australia very soon.

“I’m so excited to be back in Australia for a series of shows,” Elton writes in the caption of a photo of his wedding to his current spouse, David Furnish.  “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,” he explains. “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.”

Elton then reflects on his nearly 24-year relationship with Furnish, whom he married in 2014. 

“It felt like that fact was accepted by the world,” he writes. “For David and I, being able to openly love and commit to one another, and for that to be recognized and celebrated, is what makes life truly worth living.”

Elton finishes by saying, “I love Australia. I love its spirit, its lack of pretense, its passion. I hope it can embrace the honesty and courage that seeks gay marriage as an expression not of desire but of love.”

He ended his post with the hashtags #loveislove and #marriageequality.

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