Mary Austin was very close to late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury. In fact, the two dated for some time, until a wedding dress made her realize he was gay.
In an interview with the Guardian, Austin shared that after four years of living together, Mercury had something to tell her. She’d already known about what he was going to say, and had for a while.
Explaining why she fell in love with the singer, Austin said, “He was different from the others. He was more creative. He was just more interesting.”
Freddie Mercury was a big fan of ‘Cabaret’
“Like, he’d go to see the film Cabaret over and over again,” she recalled. “I loved listening to him explain why he enjoyed it so much. I enjoyed the journey around his mind. It was like reading a book. You were always on this journey with him.”
Eventually, the topic of his sexuality came up, and they had to address it. “He struggled to get the words out,” Austin shared. “He said, ‘I think I’m bisexual.’ I said, ‘No, Freddie, I think you’re gay.’” He didn’t argue.”
Austin was asked if this moment was hurtful for her. “No – it was a huge relief,” she replied. “Because I wasn’t sure whether we were traveling in the same direction anymore.”
Mary Austin went from being Mercury’s girlfriend to being his close friend and personal assistant
She then reflected on the wedding dress story. “Some time earlier, I saw a dress and thought, ‘That would be a really nice wedding dress.’ I asked Freddie, ‘Is it worth me buying it?’ And he looked at me and shook his head. So I knew from there on,” she remembered.
After this, Austin stopped being Mercury’s girlfriend and became his personal assistant. “We became better friends, and it became a better relationship,” she confessed. “I was six-and-a-half stone; I was really stressed. And suddenly I’m not stressed any more.”
She also noted that, even though Mercury was her boss, he never treated her like it. “[B]ut if he had treated me as an employee, I would have sucked it up. Because I’d know it’s because he’s in a foul mood or annoyed with someone, or maybe I’d done something and not realized. We’d be honest with each other.”
Finally, recalling the meanest thing Mercury ever said to her, Austin remembered, “He once told me I was inefficient, and I totally agreed.”
Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage
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