Mary austin

Freddie Mercury remained friends with his former partner, Mary Austin, after they split. Learn more about their relationship here.

By 1976, Mercury was a fully-fledged superstar, and he was ready to discuss his sexuality with his longtime partner. The revelation of his sexuality ended Austin and Mercury’s physical relationship, and she moved to a nearby flat which Mercury, through his publishing company, had bought for her. He also asked her to [place his ashes at an undisclosed location](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/the-1-secret-almost-no-one-knows-about-freddie-mercury-to-this-day.html/). Mercury and Austin met in 1969 through Queen’s guitarist Brian May, when he was 24, and she was 19. Mercury and Austin moved in together into a small apartment as he worked on his career. Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara, was born in 1946 in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and moved to England with his parents in the ’60s. He went out and lived a rock star life fueled by random sexual rendezvous and substance abuse. According to Austin, the proposal was “like one of his playful games” as she had to fish out the jade ring from several boxes. [Queen frontman](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/freddie-mercury-the-queen-frontman-actually-had-much-more-humble-beginnings-with-the-band.html/) insisted everything was OK, Austin recalled their romance cooling after. She was 23 at the time. Throughout his life, and especially during his time in the spotlight, Mercury grappled with his sexuality, but in all the turmoil, he had a constant friend in Mary Austin. But who is [Mercury’s longtime partner](https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/what-happened-to-freddie-mercury-partner-jim-hutton.html/) and friend, Austin?