These 3 Words Helped Save Elton John From Addiction - Best Life

Legendary musician Sir Elton John was catapulted to fame in 1970 after releasing his hit single Your Song. And though the next few years were a whirlwind of chart-topping tunes and iconic performances, it wasn’t long until the dark side of fame and fortune came to collect. In 1974, John began using drugs, a decision he now says could have killed him at the height of his career. Read on to learn which three words saved the singer when he hit rock bottom, and why he now says he has a “wonderful” life.

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Elton John has now been sober for over 30 years.

John has shed light on his struggles with addiction in the 2019 film Rocketman, in an autobiography released that same year, and in candid interviews. While speaking with CBS Sunday Morning in 2019, he recalled the first time he ever took cocaine in 1974, admitting that even though it made him throw up, he went back for more.

“Because I wanted to join in so much and be part of the gang, I went back and asked for another line,” he told the outlet. “Isn’t that crazy? But that’s what being a drug addict is—crazy. I so wish I’d never taken a drug,” reflected the larger-than-life performer.

John says these three words saved his life.

Those three words, “I need help,” set his new life in motion—but the star says every bit of his recovery was hard earned. “I have a wonderful life now, but I had to change it. I had to change my life really drastically—otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you,” he told Variety. “I made the choice and it was the right choice, and I did a lot of hard work. It didn’t happen overnight.”

Now, the star says he has the tools to cope with the sorts of problems that might have sent him spiraling in the past. “Life is full of pitfalls, even when you’re sober. But I can deal with them now because I don’t have to run away and hide and I have someone in my life to help me through them,” he said, referencing his husband of over 25 years, David Furnish. “I’ve learned to communicate. What I couldn’t do when I was an addict was communicate… except when I was on cocaine,” he quipped.

This coming July, John will mark his 32nd year of sobriety and the future is looking bright. “I’m 72 years of age; I feel as if I’m 18,” he told CBS. “And I’ve still got a lot of living to do hopefully with my children. And who knows what I’m gonna be doing? I really don’t know. And I don’t care. I don’t care to know. I just want to be surprised.”