![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/NINTCHDBPICT000443801589.jpg\")
<\/p>\nFREDDIE Mercury was one of the biggest stars in the world, with adoring fans around the world.<\/p>\n
But behind closed doors the legendary Queen frontman liked nothing more than spending time with his best friend, Mary Austin.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mary Austin was born in 1951 in Fulham, London, and is known for being Freddie Mercury's ex-fiance.<\/p>\n
She was brought up by her deaf parents, and the only way they communicated to their daughter was through lip-reading and sign language.<\/p>\n
Although Mary and Freddie didn't last as a couple, as he came out as gay, they remained friends until his death in 1991, with him calling her, "my one true love".<\/p>\n
While she was not involved in making the 2018 movie Bohemian Rhapsody, she is said to have given her approval.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Zanzibar-born Freddie, whose real name was Farrokh Bulsara, met Mary in 1969, five years after moving to England.<\/p>\n Aged 24, he had just finished art college, and 19-year-old Mary was working in a West London fashion boutique when they fell in love.<\/p>\n Soon they shared a cramped flat near Kensington market, where Freddie had a clothes stall with Queen drummer Roger Taylor.<\/p>\n While Freddie was both camp on and off stage, sporting outrageous clothes and strutting theatrically, the presence of Mary meant his sexuality was not questioned.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n He dedicated the song Love Of My Life to her and proposed in 1973, around the time Queen released their debut album.<\/p>\n However Mary's suspicions grew and eventually, when he confessed\u00a0that he was \u201cbisexual\u201d in 1976, she replied, \u2018No Freddie, I don\u2019t think you are bisexual. I think you are gay\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n After that, Mary moved into a nearby flat\u00a0and the couple remained incredibly close with her working for his management company.<\/p>\n He once said: \u201cAll my lovers asked me why they couldn\u2019t replace Mary, but it\u2019s simply impossible. The only friend I\u2019ve got is Mary, and I don\u2019t want anybody else.<\/p>\n "To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe in each other. That\u2019s enough for me. I couldn\u2019t fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary.\u201d<\/p>\n The pair remained best friends until Freddie sadly passed away on November 24, 1991.<\/p>\n Just a day before he died, his management released a statement on his before, which read: "Following enormous conjecture in the press, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS.<\/p>\n "I felt it correct to keep this information private in order to protect the privacy of those around me.<\/p>\n "However, the time has now come for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth, and I hope everyone will join with me, my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease."<\/p>\n His cause of death was recorded as bronchial pneumonia resulting from Aids.<\/p>\n Mary has two children with her first husband, Piers Cameron.<\/p>\n The former couple were married from 1990 to 1993, and during their time welcomed Richard and Jamie.<\/p>\n In fact, Freddie was Richard's godfather until his sad passing.<\/p>\n She was then later married to Nicholas Holford from 1998 to 2000.<\/p>\n After his death, it was revealed Freddie had left Mary half of his \u00a375million estate, including the cherished \u00a325million Georgian mansion in Kensington.<\/p>\n She now lives as a quiet life there, where fans still make regular pilgrimages.<\/p>\n The interior of the lavishly decorated 28-room palace remains largely unchanged since Freddie\u2019s days.<\/p>\n As she did the interior design for him, choosing the Louis XV furniture, there is no reason to change a thing.<\/p>\n However in 2023, in a move that has surprised Queen fans across the world, Mary announced she was auctioning 1,500 of the star's belongings\u00a0including costumes, instruments and the singer's hand-written song lyrics.<\/p>\n In an exclusive interview with the BBC Mary explained her decision.<\/p>\n "The time has come for me to take the difficult decision to close this very special chapter in my life," she said .<\/p>\n "I need to put my affairs in order," she explained, adding, "I decided that it wouldn't be appropriate for me to keep things back."<\/p>\n "If I was going to sell, I had to be brave and sell the lot."<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/OFF-LI-AUST.jpg\")
<\/picture>‘that’s enough for me’ <\/span><\/p>\nFreddie Mercury’s relationships – including the woman he loved<\/h3>\n
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