16/07/2025
When Freddie Mercury first met Mary Austin, he was 24 years old and she was 19. At the time neither could have imagined what the future would hold for them, both as a couple and singularly as friends with a deep love for each other. Their real-life relationship is examined in Bohemian Rhapsody, starring Rami Malek as Mercury and Lucy Boynton in the role of Austin.
âAll my lovers asked me why they couldnât replace Mary, but itâs simply impossible,â Mercury once said of Austin. âThe only friend Iâve got is Mary, and I donât want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage.â
When Mercury died in 1991 of AIDS-related bronchial pneumonia at age 45, Austin was by his side as she had been for much of his adult life. At one point in their relationship he had asked her to marry him, and when he died he left her half his reported $75 million estate, including the 28-room London mansion in which he passed away and Austin still lives in to this day.
Today Austin lives a quiet life away from the spotlight she often experienced as part of Mercuryâs inner circle. The pair lived together on and off for the better part of two decades as Mercuryâs profile rose and Queen became one the most beloved rock bands of the twentieth century. And due to the success of Bohemian Rhapsody, Austin is reportedly set to inherit more than $50 million as she now owns 75 percent of his estate.
Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin met in 1969, a year before he formed what would become Queen with bandmates Brian May, Roger Taylor, and eventually John Deacon. Mercury, whose real name was Farrokh Bulsara, was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, in 1946 and moved to England with his parents in the 1960s. Austin was born in 1951 into an impoverished family in South Londonâs Battersea neighborhood. Her father worked as a wallpaper trimmer, and her mother was a domestic for a small company. Both of her parents were deaf.
Austin and Mercury first crossed paths while she was working at the fashionable London clothing store Biba, and Mercury, who had just completed art college, was working at a clothing stall in nearby Kensington. Initially hesitant about Mercury's flamboyant personality, Austin soon fell for him, and they became a couple, living together in a cramped flat while he pursued his music career. âHe was like no one I had ever met before,â Austin told OK! Magazine in 2000. âHe was very confident, and I have never been confident. We grew together. I liked him â and it went on from there.â
The couple eventually moved to a bigger flat on Holland Road in London. In 1973, the year Queen released their debut album, Mercury proposed to Austin. âWhen I was 23 he gave me a big box on Christmas Day. Inside was another box, then another and so it went on. It was like one of his playful games. Eventually, I found a lovely jade ring inside the last small box,â Austin told the Daily Mail in 2013. Confused, Austin asked Mercury on which hand she should place the ring. He replied the left and asked her to marry him. âI was shocked. It just so wasnât what I was expecting. I just whispered, âYes. I will.ââ
As Queen's fame grew with albums like "Sheer Heart Attack" (1974) and "A Night at the Opera" (1975), which included the ballad "Love of My Life" reportedly written for Austin, Mercury's public persona also expanded. His striking appearance, charismatic performances, and powerful voice made him a star.
However, their personal life was troubled. Six years into their relationship, the topic of marriage had faded, and Austin sensed something was amiss. She confronted Mercury, feeling like a burden to him. âI told him, âSomething is going on and I just feel like a noose around your neck. I think itâs time for me to go,ââ she recalled to OK! Mercury denied any issues, but the relationship cooled as Queen's success soared.
Austin suspected Mercury was seeing another woman, but in 1976, he revealed his evolving sexual feelings. âIâll never forget that moment,â Austin told the Daily Mail. âBeing a bit naive, it had taken me a while to realize the truth. Afterward, he felt good about having finally told me he was bisexual. Although I do remember saying to him at the time, âNo Freddie, I donât think you are bisexual. I think you are gay.ââ
This revelation ended their physical relationship, and Austin moved to a nearby flat Mercury's music-publishing company bought for her. Despite this, she remained in his life and part of Queenâs extended circle. âShe went on the road with them. There are photographs of them together backstage at concerts into the late seventies by which stage they were no longer a couple,â biographer Blake noted. âHe was to all intents and purposes a gay man. Itâs a very interesting part of their story, that having lived together as a couple and her believing that at one point they would be married and then having to come to terms with the fact that he was sleeping with guys. And they remained such good friends for so long after that. She stayed as part of the bandâs entourage because she was part of his entourage. She was the most important person in that entourage.â
Austin witnessed Mercury's life of excess as a rock star, fueled by substance abuse and numerous sexual encounters. She pursued her own life, having two sons with painter Piers Cameron, Richard, for whom Mercury was a godfather, and Jamie, born shortly after Mercuryâs death. Though she never married Cameron, her marriage to businessman Nick Holford ended in divorce after five years.
Austin remained a constant in Mercury's life, even working for his management company in the years leading up to his death. When Mercury was diagnosed with HIV in 1987, she supported him, and he died of AIDS-related complications on November 24, 1991, with Austin by his side.
âHe kept her close by when he became ill,â Blake noted. âThe fact that she was so well looked after in the will. She got the house and a share of the publishing. He effectively left a lot to her as if he was leaving it to his widow. Mary was probably good at keeping him grounded. She had been there before the money, before the fame, and she was there at the end.â
Austin described Mercury as her eternal love. âWhen he died I felt weâd had a marriage,â she told OK! âWeâd done it for better or worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health. You could never have let go of Freddie unless he died â and even then it was difficult.â
Austin supported Mercuryâs decision to keep his illness private until shortly before his death. She honored his wish to keep the location of his ashes secret, waiting two years after his death to move them from his house to an undisclosed location. âHe didnât want anyone trying to dig him up as has happened to some famous people,â Austin told the Daily Mail. âFans can be deeply obsessive. He wanted it to remain a secret and it will remain so.â
