St Tropez is a sought-after spot on the French Riviera, a town with quaint cobbled streets, heaving nightlife and beaches lapped by the mild Mediterranean Sea – the ideal spot for a honeymoon.
Yet for Renate Blauel, ex-wife of music legend Sir Elton John, it was little more than hell on Earth. The 67-year-old claims she took an overdose of Valium tablets three days into their honeymoon in the seaside haven after the Rocket Man singer told her the marriage wasn’t working and he wanted her to leave.
The German sound engineer, who was married to Elton from 1984 to 1988, was rushed to hospital and claims Elton didn’t even visit her. What’s more, she says, when she was discharged he drove her straight to the airport with her luggage.
The dramatic claims are the latest to emerge from
documents filed in the London High Court, where she is suing the rocker for £3million
(around R63 million) in damages.
Renate, who met Elton while working on his 1983 album Too Low for Zero, alleges he broke the terms of their divorce deal when he wrote about her in his autobiography Me, which was released last year.
Read more: Elton John’s ex-wife sues him for R63 million for reportedly breaking divorce agreement
She says the book triggered long-standing mental health issues, despite the comments about her in the book being entirely positive.
“She didn’t see the book before publication,” an insider says. “She got wind of it and said: ‘Make sure, please, that I’m not in it.’ She didn’t want to be made to look a fool.
“As far as I’m aware, she sent warnings about the
book. Maybe they never got shown to Elton, but the book came out and she was in
it, and so here we are.”
Elton’s legal team has acknowledged the existence of the agreement but denies the singer breached the terms or caused any psychological harm.
“Elton has always respected Renate's privacy and will continue to do so,” his legal counsel, Jenny Afia, told Mail Online.
“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.
“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 centered
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.”
In 2014 Elton tied the knot with David Furnish and the pair are parents to eight-year-old Zachary and six-year-old Elijah.
Sources: BBC, Daily Mail, The Sun
