Elton John marks major milestone with heartfelt life update

Elton John celebrated his 36th year of sobriety on Wednesday with a sweet message to his fans, and shared a photo of himself enjoying a glass of alcohol-free bubbles.

The 79-year-old wore a bright smile as he sat outside at a restaurant, dressed in a patterned button-up shirt and his signature bold-colored glasses. 

He held a glass of bubbles from his Elton John Zero Blanc de Blanc brand, which he launched in January 2026. “36 years sober today. Raising a 0% glass to life. Grateful for every single day,” he wrote in the caption.

Elton’s sobriety journey 

The legendary entertainer has worked hard to get sober, and shared with Variety that he had been hurtling towards disaster before checking himself into rehab.

“The life I was leading, flying on the Starship [his private plane], living in beautiful houses, buying things left, right and center – it was not a normal life, not the sort of life I came from anyway,” he explained.

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“I lost complete touch with that. I vowed when I did change my life that that would never happen again.” Elton added that he experienced constant health problems due to his substance abuse issues.

“There were times I was having chest pains or staying up for three days at a time,” he said. “I used to have spasms and be found on the floor, and they’d put me back to bed, and half an hour later I’d be doing the same. It’s crazy.”

Surviving addiction

The “Rocketman” singer shared that alcohol and self-doubt made him into a “monster”.

“Every creative artist does have doubt and has moments of, ‘Am I doing the right thing? Am I good enough?’ And that’s what turns us into monsters as well, because I think you become unreasonable, and of course the chemical substances and the alcohol doesn’t help anything, and you lose touch with reality,” he told the outlet.

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“I am a survivor,” the father of two concluded. “I’ve survived a lot of things. Life is full of pitfalls, even when you’re sober. I can deal with them now because I don’t have to run away and hide.”

Elton recognized that there was still hope for recovery, as he told CBS News. “It nearly destroyed my soul,” he explained. “My soul was black, like a charred piece of steak, until I said, ‘I need help.’ And suddenly, a little pilot light in my soul came along going, ‘Yes, I’m still here. I’m still here. I’m still here. I can still be rescued.'”

Seeking help

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After his friend, teen AIDS activist Ryan White, passed away in 1990, Elton checked himself into Parkside Lutheran Hospital in Chicago on July 29. He previously shared how the experience was like a “boot camp” that gave him a routine and taught him the basics like doing his own washing and making his bed.

He has since supported other celebrities who struggled with addiction, like Boy George and Eminem.