ELTON JOHN and DAVID FURNISH

The Rocket Man singer and filmmaker Furnish entered into a civil partnership in December 2005 after a nine-year romance, and 60-year-old John insists their happiness as a couple is largely down to his partner's willingness to help him work through his personal issues.

He says, "This year will be 12 years with David, and it's the happiest relationship I've ever had. He's brought so much to my life, it's a 50-50 relationship. Before, I took hostages, you know, they were 90-10, 'you're coming with me', 'you'll get a Versace shirt and a Cartier watch and you're coming with me', and at the end of six months, they hated my guts and quite rightly so.

"It's been one of the great journeys of being sober and clean, you have to be confrontational. I hate confrontation, I always used to hate it and being in a relationship is all about communication and he's very good at that with me."

John struggled with drug and alcohol addiction early on in his career, and has been clean for several years after a stint in rehab in 1990.

Source: WENN