Yahoo Lifestyle 
Elton John's Australian wedding
To the devastation of many of his fans, Elton John has announced that after 50 years in the business, he'll be retiring from the road after one last tour.
The British legend, 70, will spend the next three years farewelling the world and will travel to Australia and New Zealand between December 2019 to February 2020.
But while it may be his last official tour Down Under, Australia will always hold a special place in the singer's heart after Sydney was his destination of choice for his first marriage to recording engineer, Renate Blauel.
The couple tied the knot at St Mark’s Church in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst in 1984, eight years after he came out as bisexual.
In typical Elton fashion, he wore a stripped shirt with a purple bow tie and boater hat, while his German bride wore a crown of baby's breath flowers around her head.
The marriage only lasted four years, but Elton reminisced about his first wedding day when speaking about marriage equality in September last year.
“Many years ago, I chose Australia for my wedding to a wonderful woman for whom I have such love and admiration,” he said in a lengthy Instagram post during the postal plebiscite campaign.
“I wanted more than anything to be a good husband, but I denied who I really was - it caused my wife sadness, and caused me huge guilt and regret.”
The singer went on to explain that it wasn’t until he met his current husband David Furnish, over two decades ago, that he could fully be himself with his partner.
“When we married in 2014, it felt like that fact was accepted by the world. For David and I, being able to openly love and commit to one another, and for that to be recognised and celebrated makes life truly worth living.”
He added that it was that feeling of acceptance and support that continues to push Elton and his husband to “want to be as kind, responsible and productive members of society, as well as the best parents, that we can be.”
“I love Australia. I love its spirit, it's lack of pretence, it's passion. I hope it can embrace the honesty and courage that seeks gay marriage as an expression not of desire but of love. #loveislove #marriageequality,” he concluded.
Want more celebrity, entertainment and lifestyle news? Follow Be on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr and Instagram
