Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara, had many fans, and when he passed away on November 24, 1991, at age 45, people worldwide mourned him. But one person knew him better than most: his dear friend and former partner, Mary Austin.
Freddie Mercury’s Friend & Ex-Partner Mary Austin Reveals His Last Words
GettyAustin and Mercury were together romantically for about six years in the ’70s, but after they split, they remained lifelong friends, and she was the late star’s confidant. Now, 34 years after the beloved musician passed away, Austin is reflecting on their relationship as she promotes her book, “Freddie Mercury: A Life in Lyrics.”
She spoke about Mercury’s final words to her in an interview with The Guardian, published on September 1. “I was holding his hand. He was on morphine and in and out of consciousness, and he falls back to sleep. And I stand there for quite a while and he finally comes round again and he just said, ‘My old faithful.’ So I felt a bit like a dog. I wasn’t flattered,” she said.
In her interview, Austin also revealed that Mercury never told her he loved her; instead, “He bought things.” She also was not under the impression that he wrote the hit track “Love of My Life” for her. “He never said it was about me. He wrote Lily of the Valley about me,” she said. But the publication asked her if Mercury was the love of her life, to which she replied, “I think I can say, in retrospect, so far, yes, he is the love of my life.”
Mary Austin Remembers Her First Impression of Freddie Mercury
GettyMercury’s final words were the end of their relationship, but Austin also clearly remembers the beginning. In the interview, she reflected on how she and Mercury first met and what she thought. “I thought he was too confident for me,” she said. “He was full of bravado. I picked up a magazine and started thumbing through it because I felt I shouldn’t be there. Why was I sitting in a conversation I had no part in? Yes, he was very confident, and I found it a bit intimidating.”
Once she got to know the musician, Austin realized Mercury wasn’t as confident as she’d initially believed. “It was a mix of real confidence and bravado. I think the mix was to cover and protect who he really was.”
When he died, Austin received 50 percent of Mercury’s overall wealth and future earnings, along with many of his belongings. Austin had four suitcases filled with Mercury’s personal items, including song lyrics, that she waited decades to open because it was too painful. “To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement,” she told The Guardian. “I couldn’t look at the lyrics. I felt as I did when I originally packed them – that they were his personal belongings and I was being offered an opportunity to delve into them, and I couldn’t do that.”
