Mary Austin, the longtime friend and former girlfriend of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury, has opened up about the moment she became certain he was gay, revealing details in a new interview with The Guardian.
Austin described her deep connection with Mercury. She recalled the emotional conversation in which he first tried to tell her about his sexuality, along with a quiet moment beforehand that had already given her a sense of what was coming.
“Like, he’d go to see the film Cabaret over and over again,” Mary Austin said. “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.”
She then recounted the pivotal exchange between them, when Mercury struggled to articulate his feelings.
“He struggled to get the words out,” Austin continued. “He said, ‘I think I’m bisexual.’ I said ‘No, Freddie, I think you’re gay.’ He didn’t argue.”
Austin also spoke about the sense of relief that followed the conversation, along with an earlier moment that had already hinted at the truth.
“It was a huge relief, because I wasn’t sure whether we were traveling in the same direction any more,” she said. “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.”
This conversation marked a turning point in one of the most enduring relationships of Mercury’s life, one that would continue to shape his personal world long after their romance ended.
Mercury and Austin had been engaged in the 1970s before the singer’s admission led them to end their romantic relationship. Rather than drifting apart, the two remained extraordinarily close for the rest of Mercury’s life. Austin became one of his most trusted confidantes.
That closeness was reflected in the choices Mercury made in his final years. He referred to Austin as his common-law wife. He made clear well before his death that she would inherit both his London home and a significant share of his fortune.
When Mercury died in 1991, his will confirmed those wishes. He left Austin half of his estate, then estimated at between £20 million and £30 million, along with Garden Lodge, his sprawling Kensington mansion, where Austin has lived for more than three decades since.
Decades later, the value of that inheritance has grown substantially. Austin’s share of Mercury’s estate is now estimated at around £150 million, a testament to the lasting bond between the two that outlasted their romance and defined much of both their lives.
