Before Sir Elton John found global fame the singer had plans to walk down the aisle with his first love Linda Hannon. While she had plans to marry Elton, their love affair came to a screeching halt when the singer ended their marriage just weeks before they exchanged vows. In an unearthed interview with the Daily Express in 2019, Linda recalled the warning signs had been there before the now 78-year-old called off the wedding. She first met Elton – whose real name is Reginald Kenneth Dwight – when he came over to her table at a Sheffield club in 1968. “Was there an instant spark? I don’t know, but he had never been to Sheffield before so I offered to show him around,” she explained.

Linda shared things soon became romantic and when he asked her to visit him in London she stayed with the singer at his mother’s place. But as their relationship progressed Linda found she was footing the bill for everything. They got engaged and found a flat to live in together.

She said: “I remember going to buy furniture on HP. We didn’t have much money. I paid for everything, so we weren’t going out for fancy meals or anything like that.

“I’d go to the studio to listen to him sing and record music or we’d go to the pub. We went everywhere by bus – we didn’thave a car. We were happy, so I thought.”

Linda said that while Sir Elton didn’t officially propose they did discuss getting married which prompted her to go out and purchase an engagement ring for herself.

Despite booking the registry office she said, “Reg, woke me up to say he was leaving”.

The Candle in the Wind singer tied the knot with German sound engineer Renate Blauel in Sydney in 1984, but the couple were divorced in 1988 with Elton confirming he was gay.

He previously spoke about the hurt he caused in his first marriage saying: “Many years ago, I chose Australia for my wedding to 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.

“To be worthy of someone’s love, you have to be brave enough and clear eyed enough to be honest with yourself and your partner.”

Sir Elton went on to find happiness with husband David Furnish, whom he married in 2005.