Elton John has some terrible news to share with his fans:
The artist’s mother has passed away unexpectedly.
Her name was Sheila Farebrother and she had only just recently rekindled a relationship with her famous son.
“So sad to say that my mother passed away this morning,” wrote John on Instagram and Twitter this morning, adding:
“I only saw her last Monday and I am in shock. Travel safe Mum. Thank you for everything. I will miss you so much. Love, Elton.”
The legendary star did not explain the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death.
But he did include the following image of the pair along with his unfortunate message:
The iconic musician announced just this past spring that he had made up with his mom after a nearly decade-long estrangement.
He wasn’t open (nor need he have been) about why he and Farebrother had not been in close contact for many years, but he posted a different happy picture of parent and child on Mother’s Day.
“So happy we are back in touch,” he wrote as a caption at the time.
While John was mostly silent about the reason why he and his mother had a fallout in 2008, Farebrother opened up a bit to The Daily Mail about why she scarcely spoke to her son.
In 2015, she cited her refusal to cut off contact with two of John’s oldest friends – Bob Halley and John Reid – as the catalyst for their severed relationship.
John had previously cut ties with both men.
Said Farebrother to the aforementioned publication two years ago:
“‘I told him: ‘I’m not about to do that and drop them. Bob is like a son to me. He has always been marvellous to me and he lives nearby and keeps an eye on me.’”
She added:
“Then to my utter amazement, [John] told me he hated me. And he then banged the phone down. Imagine! To me, his mother!"”
Last year, however, there was a thawing out between the two.
“Out of respect for my mother’s privacy, I have always shied away from speaking publicly about our relationship,” John said in an interview.
“However, I can say that we are now back in touch and have been so since my mother’s 90th birthday.”
We send our condolences to Elton John and his family.
