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- Elton John and David Furnish have been together since 1993
- The pair have worked together on two documentaries about Elton’s life
- They started their family in 2010 and have two sons
Sir Elton John came out as gay in 1988, although he had previously mentioned to Rolling Stone in 1976 that he was attracted to both men and women, per HuffPost. “Nobody asked me,” he reasoned on the TODAY show in 2012 about why he didn’t make an official announcement for so long. “When (journalist) Cliff Jahr asked me in Rolling Stone, ‘I’m gonna ask you a question, but if you don’t want to answer it, I’m gonna turn the tape recorder off’ And I said, ‘You’re gonna ask me if I’m gay or not.’ And he said, ‘How did you know that?’ I said, ‘I’ve been waiting for people to ask me this. It’s not exactly a secret. I live with my manager. I’m openly gay outside. I don’t have a girlfriend… I just thought it was common knowledge.’”
The five-time Grammy winner was married to his ex-wife, Renate Blauel, between 1984 and 1988 — the year he came out as gay. A few years later, he met his future husband, David Furnish. The couple has been together since 1993 and walked down the aisle two decades later in 2014. They have supported each other through everything, including health challenges. In 2024, the well-known singer revealed he had lost his eyesight after suffering a severe eye infection in July. However, during a Devil Wears Prada musical in London on December 1, 2024, he shared that his husband has been his “rock” during this difficult time, according to multiple reports. Read on to learn about David and his relationship with Elton.
Who Is David Furnish?
David is Canadian and was born on Oct. 25, 1962. He grew up in a middle-class family and was the middle child of three brothers. He was a hard worker his entire life and got a job as soon as he could. Over the years, he was a newspaper delivery boy, a lawn mower, a babysitter, a waiter, and more. After high school, he attended the University of Western Ontario for business studies and kept his same work ethic. “People who partied their first year away were the ones whose parents paid for everything. It was my money, I worked all those years, all those jobs. I studied really, really hard, rather boringly,” he recalled to The Star in 2015.
He came out to his mother between his second and third years at university. “I remember my mom saying: ‘I love you and I support you, but all I look at is a life of unhappiness, isolation, prejudice and illness,’” he told The Star. He added that his mom also said it broke her heart to think of him not being able to have children.
After college, David accepted an advertising role at Ogilvy & Mather. A few years later, he jumped at the opportunity to transfer to the company’s London offices. Sadly, his career move was less influenced by his love for advertising and more influenced by his insecurities. “I was running away because I had to come out of the closet. By the time I left Toronto, I was truly living a double life,” he remembered. “I had a girlfriend, and I would leave her flat and go and have sex with a man afterwards. It was not the most honest and healthy and happy way to be living your life.”
David resigned from his position after he started dating Elton and switched to filmmaking. He notably directed the 1997 Elton John documentary Tantrums & Tiaras. He’s also known for producing 2019’s Rocketman and 2011’s Gnomeo & Juliet.
Elton admitted Tantrums & Tiaras was “David’s greatest gift” to him because it showed him a truthful look at his personality and how he treated those around him. “He showed me who I was and how much I needed to change,” he told Mirror in 2012. “I watch it every three years. I still cringe but now it makes me laugh. It’s been 17 years since that was made and I genuinely don’t think I have tantrums any more. I’ve become a much more calm and collected individual.”
How Did David And Elton Meet?
David became a director at Ogilvy & Mather and was invited by friends to a dinner party at Elton’s home, which is where they first laid eyes on one another. “In 1993 I went back to my house in Windsor for a while. I wanted meet new people so I rang up a friend in London and said, ‘Could you please rattle some new people together for dinner here Saturday?’” Elton recalled to Parade in a 2010 interview about how the dinner party came to be.
He also admitted he was taken back by David as soon we he met him. “I was attracted to David immediately. He was very well dressed, very shy. The next night we had dinner. After it, we consummated our relationship. We fell in love very quickly,” the “Rocket Man” hitmaker gushed.
David And Elton Are Proud Parents
David and Elton have welcomed two sons into their lives. Their eldest son, Zachary, was born on Dec. 25, 2010, and their youngest son, Elijah, came into the world on Jan. 11, 2013. They were both born via surrogacy. “[Having children] makes all the difference because it’s about them, not you. And it’s the greatest thing you’ll ever know,” Elton raved to PEOPLE in 2017. “People say, ‘Well, I disagree, I don’t want children and that’s fine — I would have said the same thing, until I had them. Then it was like, ‘Wow this is it? Are you kidding me?’ If I was 15 years younger, I’d have two or three more. Without question.”
He also expressed his gratitude for the relationship he has with David. “Our love has grown stronger and stronger,” he noted. Keeping it real, though, he added that they have experienced their “ups and downs like every other couple.”
The Secret To Their Success
Elton revealed to Parade in his 2010 chat with the publication that communication is key when it comes to their successful marriage. “Every Saturday for 16 years, we’ve sent each other a card, no matter where we are in the world, to say how much we love each other,” he stated. He also noted that they are comfortable talking about all topics together. “We’ve never been jealous. We talk about the sexual side of things, things that normally would have frightened me before,” he said.
