ELTON John’s ex-fiance has told of her heartache at being jilted by the then-rising star just weeks before their big day as he struggled with his sexuality.
Linda Hannon, 75, said that all the arrangements had been made for their wedding – including the cake and registry office ceremony – when he suddenly told her it was off.
Getty – Contributor
AP:Associated Press
She claims a drunk Elton – who was then still known as Reg Dwight – woke her at 4am to break the news, the Mirror reports.
The musician was just months away from stardom with his first big hit – the 1970 track Your Song – when he called off the wedding.
But Linda, who still has her engagement ring after 49 years, says his mood darkened as their nuptials loomed.
And just weeks before their split, she and his co-writer Bernie Taupin discovered him after he had attempted suicide over what she claims were his struggles with his sexuality.
I didn’t have a clue he was struggling with his sexuality
Linda Hannon
Linda, now a divorced mum-of-three who lives in Dallas, Texas, recalled: “He’d be silent and moody.
“I didn’t have a clue he was struggling with his sexuality.
“A few weeks before Reg left, Bernie and I found him lying with his head in the gas oven with the window wide open.”
Linda decided to press on with the wedding hoping that he would feel better once they tied the knot.
She said: “The register office was booked.
“And his mum had ordered the cake.
“We weren’t planning a huge affair.
“It was going to be family, a few close friends.”
Hulton Archive – Getty
But it all came to a devastating end after Elton was convinced to dump her on his stag do by pals Bernie and Long John Baldry.
The two friends allegedly warned him he’d “ruin two lives” if the marriage went ahead.
It’s this episode that some claim was the inspiration behind Elton’s song Someone Saved My Life Tonight.
The hit contains the lyrics, “You almost had your hooks in me, didn’t you dear?” – which Linda believes is a thinly-veiled reference to their split.
Elton, 72, went on to marry German sound engineer Renate Blauel on Valentine’s Day 1984.
They divorced four years later in 1988 when the Rocketman singer came out as gay.
AP:Associated Press
Pop superstar Elton is now married to husband David Furnish and are dads to two children – Zachary, eight, and six-year-old Elijah.
Linda’s revelations come ahead of the release of the Hollywood biopic Rocketman in which Taron Egerton stars as Elton.
Released on May 24, the film charts the rise of Elton from his birth as Reg Dwight in Pinner, North West London, to his dizzying global stardom.
Linda said she was not contacted by the movie’s producers – and suspects she may have been “written out” of her former fiance’s life.
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Earlier this week, Sir Elton spoke of his desire for the film to be as honest a portrayal as possible.
He said: “It had to be as honest as possible – the lows were very low, and the highs were very high and that’s how I wanted the film to be.”
Meanwhile, Kingsman star Taron gushed that his role as Elton has “been the greatest joy of my professional life”.
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