A complicating factor in Mercury’s love life was his sexual orientation, which he downplayed to varying degrees over the course of his life and which served as a key plotline in the 2018 biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. That movie gave many fans their first understanding of his long-term relationship with Mary Austin, a woman Mercury would never legally marry, but who he’d call his “wife” even long after he’d confessed to her that he was gay, which ended their romance. Still, the film only scratched the surface of the complexities of Mercury’s many relationships. He was a lover and friend to many, but the true love of his life was love itself, according to those closest to him. Keep reading to find out about Freddie Mercury’s “wife,” lovers and relationships before his untimely and tragic death from AIDS in 1991.
Who was Freddie Mercury married to?
Mercury was never legally married, but he was in a long-term relationship with Austin. They met through bandmate Brian May in 1969, when he was 24 and she was 19. Austin had grown up relatively poor in south London, according to Biography.com; her father was a wallpaper trimmer and her mother worked as a domestic. Both of her parents were deaf. Mercury and Austin’s romance progressed at lightning speed as they reportedly moved in together very soon after. Then, on Christmas in 1973—the year Queen’s self-titled debut LP was released—Mercury popped the question. “He gave me a big box… Inside was another box, then another and so it went on. It was like one of his playful games. Eventually, I found a lovely jade ring inside the last small box,” Austin recalled in 2013 to the Daily Mail. “I was shocked. It just so wasn’t what I was expecting. I just whispered, ‘Yes. I will.’” However, they wound up calling off the engagement before walking down the aisle. “I told him, ‘Something is going on and I just feel like a noose around your neck. I think it’s time for me to go,’” Austin once told OK! That led to Mercury ultimately confessing to Mary that he wasn’t straight. Austin wound up moving out of their shared home and into a nearby residence that Mercury had purchased for her. They remained close; as Mercury biographer Mark Blake once put it, “She went on the road with them. There are photographs of them together backstage at concerts into the late seventies by which stage they were no longer a couple. He was to all intents and purposes a gay man. It’s a very interesting part of their story, that having lived together as a couple and her believing that at one point they would be married and then having to come to terms with the fact that he was sleeping with guys. And they remained such good friends for so long after that. She stayed as part of the band’s entourage because she was part of his entourage. She was the most important person in that entourage.” Though they never tied the knot officially, Austin said of Mercury’s passing, “I lost somebody who I thought was my eternal love. When he died I felt we’d had a marriage. We’d lived our vows. We’d done it for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. You could never have let go of Freddie unless he died — and even then it was difficult.”
Did Freddie Mercury love Mary?
Mercury adored Austin. He said of their romance, “All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible. The only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage.” Mercury’s personal assistant Peter Freestone told Expressof Mercury’s loyalty to Austin, “Mary was so important to him because she was there when he made the transition to being gay and she stood by him. Freddie felt huge guilt more than anything for what he put her through in 1975 when he broke their engagement and told her the truth about himself. But I do think it is significant that, in the end, he gave Mary the house and half of all his future earnings from Queen. That is what he felt for her.” Mercury wrote the Queen hit “Love Of My Life” about Austin.
What happened to Freddie Mercury’s wife? What happened to Mary Austin after Freddie Mercury died?
After Mercury’s death at the age of 45, Austin handled most of his affairs, including the placement of his ashes, which remains a secret to this day in accordance with his last wishes. She admitted that she struggled at first with his legacy and his wealth. “I found myself thinking, ‘Oh Freddie, you’ve left me too much and too much to deal with as well,’” she recalled to The Daily Mail. “I felt I couldn’t live up to it. He’d warned me that the house was going to be more of a challenge than I realized. I’m grateful he did because I hit jealousy head-on — like a Japanese bullet train. Very painful.”
Is Mary Austin still alive today? What does Mary Austin do now?
Austin is still alive and maintains Mercury’s mansion.
Who inherited Freddie Mercury’s money? Who inherited Freddie Mercury’s fortune?
Austin inherited Mercury’s One Garden Lodge mansion and the bulk of Mercury’s estate, with the remainder going to his parents and sister and about $692,000 apiece going to Freestone and Mercury’s boyfriend, Jim Hutton. Mercury also left Austin all of his future earnings from his estate, including his share of Queen’s royalties. “I don’t think the remaining members of Queen have ever reconciled themselves to it. I don’t understand it. Because to me it’s bricks and mortar,” Austin said of Mercury’s estate. “I try never to be jealous or envy people. Freddie was very generous to them in the last years of his life and I don’t think they embraced that generosity. I don’t think they appreciated or recognized what Freddie had left them. He left the band a quarter share of the last four albums — which he didn’t need to do. And I never hear from them. After Freddie died, they just wandered off.”
Does Mary Austin still live in Freddie’s house?
Yes, Austin still lives in Mercury’s mansion.
Who was Mary Austin married to?
Austin was married to painter Piers Cameron from 1990 to 1993 and to Nicholas Holford from 1998 to 2002.
Did Mary Austin have children?
Austin has two sons, Richard and James. Mercury was Richard’s godfather.
Why did Mary Austin leave Freddie Mercury?
Austin and Mercury were engaged, but she ended their romantic and physical relationship when Mercury came out to her as bisexual after she initially thought he’d been having an affair with another woman. She explained, “I never questioned him about [getting married]. But I think he must have been starting to question himself. Getting married was probably something he wanted. But then he began to wonder if it would be fair on me.” When Mercury finally told Austin that he was interested in men, she was somewhat relieved. “I’ll never forget that moment. Being a bit naive, it had taken me a while to realize the truth. Afterward, he felt good about having finally told me he was bisexual,” she said. “Although I do remember saying to him at the time, ‘No Freddie, I don’t think you are bisexual. I think you are gay.’” She added, “If he hadn’t been such a decent human being and told me I wouldn’t be here. If he had gone along living a bisexual life without telling me, I would have contracted AIDS and died.”
What happened to Jim Hutton after Freddie Mercury died?
After Mercury’s death in 1991, Hutton moved to Ireland to start a new life with his inheritance from Mercury (about $692,000). He wrote a book called Mercury and Me in 1994, which he explained was a way for him to mourn his lost love. Hutton himself was diagnosed with HIV in 1990. He died not from the virus that killed Mercury, but of lung cancer in 2010. He was 60 years old.
Did Jim Hutton have AIDS?
Hutton was diagnosed with HIV in 1990.
Why did Mary Austin kick out Jim Hutton?
In Mercury’s will, he left Austin his Garden Lodge mansion to live in with her family. He left Hutton and their other housemates enough money to purchase homes of their own elsewhere. As Freestone once explained the arrangements, “Before Freddie died he expressed verbally his wish that Jim, Joe and I could stay in Garden Lodge until we were ready to face the ‘outside world.’ He knew none of us would want to stay forever, and was even then thinking about others before him,” he said. “It was a very kind thought, but not very practical. As you all know, in his will he left Garden Lodge and all its contents to Mary Austin. This did not include three adult males. So that Freddie’s written will could go through probate it was necessary that we were no longer in the house and we were all given three months to make our arrangements. We were not evicted onto the streets, as Freddie had made sure we all had somewhere to go.”
Did Jim Hutton inherit money from Freddie Mercury?
Hutton inherited about $692,000 from Mercury. When adjusted for inflation, it’s about $1 million.
Did Jim Hutton love Freddie?
Hutton and Mercury were very much in love. Without revealing Hutton by name, Mercury once said of their relationship, “I’m very happy with my relationship at the moment and I honestly couldn’t ask for better. It’s a kind of… solace. Yes, that’s a good word for it. There s this kind of solace that I’ve got now. I don’t have to try so hard. I don’t have to prove myself now. I’ve got a very understanding relationship. It sounds so boring but it’s wonderful.” They wore rings to demonstrate their commitment, with Mercury referring to Hutton as his husband. Hutton was with Mercury in his last days and cared for the singer in his darkest hours.
Who was Joe Fanelli?
Joe Fanelliwas Mercury’s personal chef and close friend, with whom he was sexually involved prior to his relationship with Hutton.
Did Freddie Mercury sleep with John Reid?
John Reid managed Queen from 1975 to 1978. It hasn’t been reported whether he and Mercury were ever romantically involved, though Reid’s relationship with fellow former client Elton Johnwas well-documented and a key plotline in Rocketman.
Who was Freddie Mercury’s greatest love? Who did Freddie really love?
According to those close to him, Mercury truly loved Austin and Hutton. Freestone told Express, “Freddie taught me love is a quality, not a quantity. You don’t use all your love once and then it’s gone. Freddie did love Mary but then he also loved Jim. He loved his friends.” Next, Crazy in Love! Everything You Need to Know About Power Couple Beyoncé and JAY-Z
