Mary Austin is an English socialite who is best known as the partner of popular musician and the lead vocalist of the band Queens, Freddie Mercury. She first came to limelight when she began dating and moved in with Freddie after they became engaged. She gained more popularity when Freddie revealed that she was the inspiration for one of the hit songs that he wrote for the group.
Unfortunately, their relationship took an unexpected turn; Mary became the envy of several of Freddie Mercury’s lovers after he revealed in an interview they had separated and no one could replace Mary in his life; in fact, he added that he considered Mary to be his common-law wife – despite the fact that they never got married officially.
7 Interesting Things About Mary Austin
1. Mary was From a Poor Home
Mary was born into a poor home, and as is customary with such beginnings, she didn’t have all she wanted as a child. Her family struggled financially as the income of her father, who worked as a hand trimmer for a wallpaper business and her mother’s job as a maid was not enough to make ends meet for the family. Mary had to drop out of school at 15 in other to take up a job as a receptionist to make some money for herself and to help out her family.
2. Her Relationship With Freddie Mercury
The love story of Mary Austin and – whose real name was Farrokh Bulsara, was almost a fairy tale of eternal and unconditional love. It was reported that she first met Freddie Mercury when she was 19, while Freddie was 5 years older than her. Mary had a not too serious relationship with Brian May, who coincidentally was in a rock band that included Freddie Mercury.
May, revealed in an interview that Freddie became infatuated about Mary and would often ask about her from him, and when he told Freddie that there wasn’t anything serious between them, it gave Freddie the opportunity to ask Mary out, after May introduced Freddie to Mary. Freddie and Mray began dating and were almost inseparable at a point. They moved in with each other for some years between 1970 to 1976.
3. She Inspired the Queen’s song “Love of My Life”
The Love Freddie Mercury had for Mary Austin inspired him to write the song titled Love of My Life for and about her, which was a chart-topping track in South America in the mid-1970s. After the band Queens released the song in 1975, they played it on their tour around the world and it became one of the most known songs of the band.
4. Her Separation from Freddie Mercury
While co-habited as lovers, she began to notice after 4 years of staying together that there was some sort of distance between her and Freddie; he would usually come back very late and their relationship became strained. They both had to clear the air about their relationship, and after much prodding from Mary, Freddie told her that he was having an with other men. Mary thereafter moved out of their apartment, and a flat was gotten for her near Freddie’s home, paid for by the band.
5. They Became Inseparable Friends Even After Their Separation as Lovers.
When Mary Austin separated from Freddie around 1976, they did so in the most amicable terms ever. There was no rancor or bitterness towards each other at all, in fact, Mary still remained an integral part of the band , often traveling with them on their tours. The bond of friendship between them also grew stronger, so much so that Freddie found her irreplaceable as a lover.
6. Freddie Mercury Bequeathed More Than Half of His Estate to Mary
Freddie Mercury died of Bronchial Pneumonia, a condition arising from complications of AIDS that he was diagnosed to have on November 24, 1991. Though at the time of his death, he was with his partner Jim Hutton, he left a vast majority of his estate to Mary Austin – including a 28 bedroom mansion, which Mary and her family still lives in till date; leaving only $500,000 to Jim at his death. Many people believe that the estate Mary inherited from Freddie was worth about $50 million.
7. Her Family and Relationships
There was not much information about the relationships Mary Austin was in after her separation from Freddie in the 1970s, but in 1990 she got married to Piers Cameron and they had 2 boys together; however, they got divorced by 1993. Freddie was the godfather of Mary’s eldest son, Richard, just before he died in 1991. Mary also got married to Nicholas Hofford in 1998, but sadly they got a divorce in 2002 and they had no children while together.
