Elton John Settles $3.9 Million Legal Dispute With Ex-wWife

New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Elton John and his ex-wife, Renate Blauel, settled their legal dispute over his memoir Me and his biopic Rocketman, a representative for John announced.

Blauel had filed a lawsuit claiming that her appearance in the works breached an agreement the pair signed after their divorce in 1988 that prevented them from discussing their marriage. John's lawyers had argued that the details he included were public knowledge and that the contract applied only to "private and confidential matters." She asked for damages and costs estimated at $3.9 million.

"The parties are happy to announce that they have resolved this case, in a way that acknowledges Renate's need for privacy," a statement said.

"For her part, Renate acknowledges that Elton has acted in a dignified and respectful way toward her in the last 30 years and has always been happy to help her. They will not be discussing each other, or their marriage, in the future and will be making no further comment about the case."

The couple met in 1983 and married the following year, during work on John's album Breaking Hearts, for which Blauel served as a recording engineer. After the split, her lawyers said, she made a point of avoiding the limelight, going so far as to change her identity and move to a small village in England.

In 2017, John described her as 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."