Elton John’s husband David Furnish reveals their rule for marriage

After being married for 31 years, Elton John and his husband David Furnish have rules for their marriage that work for them.

The two were at the Toronto International Film Festival for the premiere of a documentary on the “Rocket Man” singer’s life, Elton John: Never Too Late, which his husband co-directed along with RJ Cutler. There, Furnish talked about how both he and John have made their marriage last for more than three decades.

“Elton and I’ve never been dishonest with each other,” he told People at the festival. “We’ve always talked very openly about our feelings and when we’ve had challenges and things we have to overcome, we always talk it out.”

The filmmaker added that the two of them also abide by the “don’t go to bed angry” rule that many couples try to follow.

“We always make sure that before we turn in at night, if there’s any kind of hostility in the air or, ‘I’m not speaking to you. Really pissed me off,’ we don’t go to sleep on it,” Furnish said. “We don’t carry it over the next day.”

He noted that in some cases this can last until 3am if needed to “talk it out.” “I just think that’s all about respecting the relationship,” Furnish said.

The couple first met at a dinner party thrown by a mutual friend in 1993 before striking a connection and going on their first date only one day later.

They went on to enter a civil partnership in December 2005, not getting legally married for another nine years when same-sex marriage became legal in the UK. They share two sons – Zachary, 13, and Elijah, 11.

Recently, the “Crocodile Rock” singer revealed he’s been slowly healing from a “severe eye infection” that has left his vision impaired.

“Over the summer, I’ve been dealing with a severe eye infection that has unfortunately left me with only limited vision in one eye. I am healing, but it’s an extremely slow process and it will take some time before sight returns to the impacted eye,” he said in a statement shared in an Instagram post.

“I am so grateful for the excellent team of doctors and nurses and my family, who have taken such good care of me over the last several weeks. I have been quietly spending the summer recuperating at home, and am feeling positive about the progress I have made in my healing and recovery thus far.”

John reflected on his health in the documentary as well, explaining how his sons have a fear of his death.

“They think about my mortality. They worry about my mortality,” he said in the film. “Not so much David but me.”

He explained that the fear comes from how much his children love him. “So they want me to be around forever, [and] I would love to be around forever,” John said.

Although he has started to accept that there might be aspects of his sons’ lives that he’ll miss. “I want to see them have children and get married. I don’t think I’m going to be around for that. Who knows?” the “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” singer said. “You never know.”