Freddie Mercury had people falling at his feet left, right and centre – but there was only one person he truly loved, Mary Austin.
The rockstar fell head-over-heels in love with Mary, who was just 19 when they met in 1969, and he managed to persuade her to go on a date with a then-unknown Freddie.
Just four years after their first meeting, Freddie got down on one knee and asked for Mary’s hand in marriage on Christmas Day, 1973, with a jade ring.
However, despite being deeply in love and engaged, the subject of marriage was never spoken about, which made Mary believe Freddie had started seeing other women.
Mary Austin revealed that Freddie’s decision to come out as bisexual saved her life (Image: Getty Images)
Mary was later heartbroken when Freddie sat her down to reveal he was bisexual.
She later supported Freddie and stayed by his side until his final moments.
In a rare interview, she told the Daily Mail: “I’ll never forget that moment. I remember saying to him, ‘No Freddie, I don’t think you are bisexual. I think you are gay’.”
Mary stayed close to Freddie after he came out to her (Image: Getty Images)
Speaking in 2013, Freddie’s “common-law wife” revealed that his decision to come out as bisexual possibly saved her life.
“If he hadn’t been such a decent human being and told me I wouldn’t be here,” she revealed to the Daily Mail.
“If he had gone along living a bisexual life without telling me, I would have contracted AIDs and died.”
Freddie referred to Mary as his “common-law wife” (Image: Getty Images)
Shortly after their heartbreaking chat, Freddie purchased a £300,000 flat close to his own home so Mary could remain close to the singer.
The Bohemian Rhapsody legend once admitted: “Our love affair ended in tears, but a deep bond grew out of it, and that’s something nobody can take away from us.”
Freddie left the majority of his estate to Mary after his death (Image: Mirrorpix)
He added: “It’s unreachable. People always ask me about sexuality and all those things, right from the early days, but I couldn’t fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary.
“All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible.”
Freddie Mercury died aged 45, due to complications from AIDS (Image: Getty Images)
Honouring his love for Mary who he once said he would “love her until I draw my last breath,” he left her half of his £75 million estate and fortune, including a £25 million home in Kensington, South West London as she “would have been” his wife.
Freddie died at his Kensington home in 1991, aged 45, due to complications from AIDS.
He publicly shared his diagnosis just one day before his death, having been diagnosed in 1987.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
