My parents have been married for 50-plus years, and I wanted to have what they had.

I came from a happy family with loving parents, so my associations with marriage and children were all happy, positive things that brought me comfort as a child, which I wanted in my life.

When Stephen Harper was elected as the new Conservative Prime Minister - and he talked about repealing gay marriage and putting it to a vote in the House of Commons - Elton and I talked about getting married in Canada to make a statement, for ideological and political reasons.

We've been together 32 years and married for 27.

I had a lot of failed relationships, a lot of unhappiness, a lot of shame and embarrassment, bad self-image stuff.

If you look at 'Gnomeo & Juliet,' the movie's message essentially says it doesn't matter if you're a 'red' or a 'blue': at the end of the day, parents should love their children and want what's best for them.