jim hutton biography freddie mercury

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How Jim Hutton, Freddie Mercury’s Longtime Partner, Transformed The Singer’s Life

Though never legally married, Hutton and Mercury were undoubtedly each other’s life partners.

Freddie Mercury, the lead singer and main creative driving force behind the band Queen, was famous for his operatic voice and flamboyant stage presence. But offstage he was known to be a quiet and charming individual — and someone who didn’t discuss his bisexuality in public. From 1985 until his death in 1991, he lived a quiet life with his longtime partner, Jim Hutton (portrayed recently in Bohemian Rhapsody by Aaron McCusker). Some Queen fans thought the movie glossed over Mercury’s main relationships , both his first with Mary Austin and, especially, his second with Hutton — who only appears in a few brief scenes, but was in effect married to the pop star. So what happened to Jim Hutton in real life?

Unfortunately, Hutton is no longer with us. While Hutton, like Mercury, suffered from HIV , the disease was not his cause of death. ( Mercury died due to complications from AIDS in 1991 at age 45.) Instead, it was lung cancer that took Hutton's life, and the Irish native died at the age of 60 on New Year's Day, 2010.

But before then, he shared a long and meaningful relationship with Mercury. Hutton first met the singer at a London gay club called Heaven in 1985. The Queen frontman approached him and offered to buy him a drink, but Hutton was already dating someone and said no. About 18 months later, they crossed paths again in a club, and this time the sparks flew. Thus began a lengthy relationship that would last for the rest of Mercury's life. (The movie shows the couple meeting under different circumstances, with Hutton meeting Mercury at work and telling him to come find him when he’s emotionally ready.)

The pair ended up living together for several years, starting just months after they began dating. As depicted in the film, Hutton attended the Live Aid concert in 1985 and said he was “gobsmacked” by Mercury’s performance.

Initially, the couple had moments of tension. “I saw him with another guy in Heaven and we had a huge row. He told me he did it to make me jealous,” Hutton said . “Then one day I saw him leaving his Kensington flat with another guy and we had an argument. I told him he had to make his mind up.” But ultimately they formed a true partnership. Mercury wasn’t out in public, nor did he speak about Hutton in interviews, but he didn’t hide the relationship either. And though they were never married (gay marriage was, of course, illegal at the time), they more or less acted as married couples do. Each wore a wedding ring to show how committed they were to one another, and Mercury referred to Hutton as his husband .

Also like married couples, their love lasted through difficult times. After Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987 (later than was depicted in the film), he reportedly told Hutton he would understand if he wanted to leave . "Don’t be stupid," Hutton said in response. "I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the long haul." Hutton was himself diagnosed with HIV in 1990; he stayed by Mercury's side and helped care for him until the singer's death in 1991. He remembered, “It didn’t sink in until the last few weeks that he was actually dying.”

Their last conversation occurred a few days before he died, according to Hutton : “It was 6 a.m. He wanted to look at his paintings. ‘How am I going to get downstairs?’ he asked. ‘I’ll carry you,’ I said. But he made his own way, holding on to the banister. I kept in front to make sure he didn’t fall. I brought a chair to the door, sat him in it, and flicked on the spotlights, which lit each picture. He said, ‘Oh they’re wonderful’.”

Mercury bequeathed his house to his ex, Austin, after his death. Hutton said she kicked him out; he apparently received 500,000 pounds and relocated to their house in Ireland. Three years after Mercury's passing, Hutton published a book detailing his time with the singer, titled Mercury and Me . In his memoir, Hutton said he worked as Mercury’s gardener after moving into the singer’s Kensington mansion, and continued working as a hairdresser as well. He never fully embraced the rock and roll lifestyle, instead maintaining a relatively normal life with his famous live-in boyfriend.

Hutton's primary motivation for writing the book was therapeutic in nature. As he revealed in a 1994 interview with the British morning news program The Big Breakfast , he believed it helped him grieve his lover's death.

This article was originally published on Oct. 30, 2018

Inside Jim Hutton And Freddie Mercury’s Touching Love Story

Jim hutton and freddie mercury enjoyed seven love-filled years together before the latter died of aids-related complications on november 24, 1991..

Vintage Everyday Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton remained a couple until the singer’s untimely death in 1991.

Jim Hutton’s first meeting with Freddie Mercury in March 1985 was inauspicious, to say the least. In fact, Hutton initially turned Mercury down. But after finally connecting — and despite both plenty of subsequent adversity and a tragic ending to their story — this pairing was, for both men, the relationship of a lifetime.

Until the Queen singer’s death in 1991, Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury lived together as partners and exchanged wedding bands although they weren’t legally married. This is their poignant story of love and loss.

When Jim Hutton Met Freddie Mercury

Freddie Mercury’s rockstar status held little clout with Jim Hutton the first time the pair met. Hutton, born in Carlow, Ireland in 1949, was working as a hairdresser and failed to even recognize the singer. Although the 2018 film Bohemian Rhapsody depicts their first encounter as consisting of flirtatious banter when Hutton comes to help clean up after one of Mercury’s parties, in reality the two first met at a London club in 1985 — and it was far from an instant attraction.

Hutton, who was already seeing someone at the time, refused Mercury’s offer to buy him a drink at the gay club Heaven. It wasn’t until fate brought them together at the same spot 18 months later that the two really connected.

The two began dating soon after their second encounter and Hutton moved into Mercury’s London home, Garden Lodge, not even a year later.

Of course, dating a celebrity was not without its trials for Hutton. He recalled how one day they had a huge fight after he saw Mercury leaving Heaven with someone else, which the singer claimed he had done just to make his partner jealous. Things came to a head, however, after Hutton then saw Mercury leaving his apartment with another man, and “told him he had to make his mind up.”

Mercury responded to the ultimatum with a simple “OK.” Jim Hutton explained that “Deep down I think that he wanted to be secure with someone who was down to earth and not impressed by who he was.”

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Jim Hutton’s Home Life With A Rock Star

Once together in earnest, the couple’s home life was, in fact, much more mundane than might be expected by the flamboyant star’s legions of fans. On stage, Mercury was the ultimate showman who would electrify crowds. At home, Hutton reminisced, “I’d get in from work. We’d lie together on the sofa. He would massage my feet and ask about my day.”

Vintage Everyday Hutton and Mercury at home with their cat.

What started with a drink at a club would turn into a relationship that lasted until the end of Mercury’s life, although it remained a secret to the last. Mercury never publicly came out, nor ever even told his family about his homosexuality. Jim Hutton was unbothered by this, explaining, “he might have worried about how coming out would have affected him professionally but he didn’t say that. We both thought our relationship, and being gay, was our business.”

Although gay marriage was nearly two decades from being legalized in the U.K., both men wore wedding rings as symbols of their commitment.

Vintage Everyday Hutton and Mercury wore gold wedding bands as a symbol of their commitment.

Freddie Mercury’s AIDS Diagnosis And Death

Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury’s relationship was cut tragically short by the singer’s death from AIDS in 1991.

Mercury was first diagnosed with the disease in 1987, at which point he told Hutton, “I would understand if you wanted to pack your bags and leave.” But Hutton wasn’t about to abandon his partner just because their carefree days had come to an end, and he replied, “don’t be stupid. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the long haul.”

Although Jim Hutton helped nurse Mercury through private treatments at home, the fight against AIDS was still in its infancy in the late 1980s. The singer took the drug AZT (which was approved by the FDA in 1987 but soon proved ineffective at treating HIV on its own) and refused to let his illness prevent him from living his life (he even filmed the music video for “Barcelona” against his doctor’s wishes), but Hutton and his friends noticed he was slowly wasting away.

Vintage Everyday Mercury and Hutton’s relationship was cut tragically short after Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS.

Hutton later admitted that he was perhaps in denial of Mercury’s steadily deteriorating condition and that he “noticed how skeletal he’d become only on the morning of his last birthday.” Hutton also suspected that Mercury could sense his own end was near and that the star “decided to come off his AIDS medication three weeks before he died.”

A few days before Mercury passed away, he wanted to leave his sickbed and look at his paintings, so Hutton helped him downstairs, then carried him back up again. “I never realized you were as strong as you are.” Mercury declared. It would be the couple’s last real conversation. Freddie Mercury passed away from bronchial pneumonia as a complication of AIDS on Nov. 24, 1991 at the age of 45.

Vintage Everyday Hutton was devastated by the loss of his partner.

Jim Hutton After Freddie Mercury’s Death

When Mercury contracted the disease, there was still quite a strong public stigma attached to AIDS. He never even confirmed his diagnosis until the very day before his death, when his manager issued a statement in Mercury’s name.

Jim Hutton maintained that Mercury himself would never have wanted the truth made public since “he wanted his private life kept private.” Hutton was also sure that his response to critics insisting he could have helped the gay community at large by coming out and being honest about the disease would have been “f**k them, it’s my business.”

Vintage Everyday Hutton and Mercury were famously silent about their private lives, although Hutton later wrote a touching memoir about their relationship.

Hutton was, in his own words, “ devastated ” after his partner’s death and went “absolutely crazy.” Mercury had bequeathed Hutton £500,000 (about $1 million today), but he had left Garden Lodge to his friend Mary Austin, who gave Hutton three months to clear out. Jim Hutton went back home to Ireland, where he used the money Mercury had left him to build a home of his own.

Jim Hutton himself had been diagnosed with HIV for the first time in 1990. He didn’t tell Mercury until a year later, to which the singer simply exclaimed “bastards.” In 1994, he published the memoir Mercury and Me , partially, as he explained, as a way to help overcome his lingering grief.

Jim Hutton himself passed away from cancer in 2010, shortly before his 61st birthday.

After this look at Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury, take a look at 31 amazing photos depicting Freddie Mercury’s epic career. Then, read about the photo that changed the way the world viewed AIDS.

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• What Is Cinema?

Bohemian Rhapsody: The True Story Behind Freddie Mercury’s Relationships

Who were the great loves of Freddie Mercury’s life? Per the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, it comes down to two people: Mary Austin and Jim Hutton. However, the film leaves out many details about both relationships, tweaking and glossing over precious facts. Here are the true stories of Austin and Hutton, who entered Mercury’s life at crucial times and remained close to him until his death in 1991.

In 1969, Austin was a 19-year-old employee at an English boutique called Biba when she met the 24-year-old Mercury. At the time, he was an aspiring singer, but hadn’t yet become one of the biggest rock stars on the planet. Still, Austin was intrigued by the “wild-looking artistic musician.”

“He was like no one I had met before,” she told the Daily Mail in 2013. “He was very confident—something I have never been. We grew together.”

The pair quickly began dating. Bohemian Rhapsody steers close to this origin story, with Lucy Boynton playing Austin. In 1973, Mercury proposed. “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,” she recalled. “Eventually, I found a lovely jade ring inside the last small box. . . . I was shocked. It just so wasn’t what I was expecting. I just whispered, ‘Yes. I will.’”

Mercury also cemented his adoration for Austin with the ballad “Love of My Life,” (which gets a fair bit of play in Bohemian Rhapsody ). He also took her to meet his parents. “She was lovely,” Mercury’s mother, Jer Bulsara, said in a 2012 interview .

However, the wedding was called off after Mercury came out to Austin as bisexual, she told the Daily Mail. Though they ended their romantic relationship, they remained incredibly close, with Mercury buying her a home and always speaking fondly of her in public.

“All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible,” Mercury said in a 1985 interview . “The only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that’s enough for me.”

Austin, who later married and had two children, tended to Mercury after his AIDS diagnosis. When the singer died in 1991, he entrusted much of his estate and his London mansion, Garden Lodge, to her, which she still maintains . Austin also fulfilled his wish for his cremated remains to be scattered in an undisclosed location. “Nobody will ever know where he is buried because that was his wish,” she once said. “He wanted it to remain a secret and it will remain so.”

In the film, Jim Hutton (played by Aaron McCusker ) is presented as a member of a cleanup crew who has a testy, but ultimately flirtatious tête-à-tête with Mercury after one of his raucous house parties. In actuality, the Irishman, born and brought up in County Carlow, was a hairdresser who met the Queen frontman at a gay bar in the 1980s, according to an interview Hutton did with the The Times of London in 2006 . Though they would eventually settle into a seven-year relationship, ending with Mercury’s death in 1991, it was far from love at first sight.

Per that interview, Hutton said he first met Mercury at Heaven, a gay nightclub in London. The singer, who was three years older, offered to buy him a drink. Hutton, who didn’t recognize the superstar, rejected the offer. They didn’t connect until a year and a half later, Hutton said in a 1994 interview , when they saw each other, once again, at a nightclub and Mercury offered to buy him a drink again. This time, Hutton accepted. They began dating and, less than a year later, Hutton moved into Garden Lodge. He kept his job as a hairdresser.

They stayed together, though Mercury never publicly came out, which didn’t matter much to Hutton. However, the couple did face ups and downs. “I saw him with another guy in Heaven and we had a huge row. He told me he did it to make me jealous,” Hutton recalled to the Times. “Then one day I saw him leaving his Kensington flat with another guy and we had an argument. I told him he had to make his mind up.”

Over the course of their relationship, Hutton witnessed historic moments, like Queen’s soaring Live Aid performance in 1985. “I was gobsmacked. You could feel the effect his stage presence had on the crowd,” he said of the show, which he watched backstage. “Afterwards Elton [John] came and said, ‘Bastard, you’ve stolen it.’”

In their downtime, Hutton said the Queen star was quiet and reserved, a world away from his showman persona. “He loved his cats. I’d get in from work. We’d lie together on the sofa. He would massage my feet and ask about my day,” Hutton said. The pair kept on for the next few years, until Mercury’s diagnosis with AIDS in 1987. It was an excruciating time, with friends like Joe Fanelli, Mercury’s cook, and Peter Freestone, his assistant, taking turns nursing the ailing singer.

The couple’s last conversation, Hutton says, took place a few days before Mercury died. “It was 6 A.M. He wanted to look at his paintings. ‘How am I going to get downstairs?’ he asked. ‘I’ll carry you,’ I said. But he made his own way, holding on to the banister. I kept in front to make sure he didn’t fall. I brought a chair to the door, sat him in it, and flicked on the spotlights, which lit each picture. He said, ‘Oh they’re wonderful’.”

After the singer’s death, Austin took over Garden Lodge, reportedly kicking Hutton out , despite Hutton’s claim that Mercury wanted him to stay there. He was devastated by her decision, he said. However, Mercury did leave him with £500,000 (nearly $1 million, per the 1991 conversion rate), which he used to move back to Ireland. He also wrote a book about their relationship, simply titled Mercury and Me.

Hutton died on January 1, 2010, after a long battle with cancer . He was 60 years old.

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Who is Jim Hutton? Freddie Mercury's lover played by Aaron McCusker in Bohemian Rhapsody

17 February 2022, 12:15

Jim Hutton was one of the most important people in Freddie Mercury's life, and was a major character in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody.

Jim McCusker played Jim Hutton in the film , but what happened to the real life Jim?

Who is Jim Hutton and when did he meet Freddie Mercury?

Jim was working as a hairdresser when he first met Freddie Mercury at a London gay club called Heaven in 1985, he once told The Times .

The Queen frontman offered to buy him a drink, but Jim was already dating someone else and turned him down.

18 months later, they crossed paths again in a different club, and this time they started a relationship that would last for the rest of Freddie's until his death at the age of 45 in 1991.

However, the movie shows them meeting at one of Freddie's lavish parties, with Jim working as a waiter.

How long were they together?

Jim Hutton - Interview (1994 The Big Breakfast)

The pair lived together for several years, starting soon after they began dating in the 1980s.

While they were never married (as gay marriage was illegal at the time), they were essentially a married couple. They both wore a wedding ring to show how committed they were to each another, and Freddie referred to Jim as his husband, according to The Vintage News .

When Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, he reportedly told Jim he would understand if he wanted to part ways.

"Don’t be stupid," Hutton said, according to The Daily Beast . "I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the long haul."

Jim stayed with Freddie, and helped care for him until the singer's death in 1991.

Three years after Freddie's death, Jim published a book about his time with the singer titled Mercury and Me .

He worked as Freddie's gardener after moving into the singer's Kensington mansion, and preferred to stay away from the rock and roll lifestyle.

What happened to Jim Hutton?

Sadly, Jim Hutton passed away in 2010 at the age of 60 on New Year's Day.

While he, like Freddie, suffered from HIV, his death was actually caused by lung cancer.

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• The True Story Behind <i>Bohemian Rhapsody</i>

The True Story Behind Bohemian Rhapsody

T he new music biopic Bohemian Rhapsody (Nov. 2) tells the story of the rise of the iconic British rock band Queen, with a central focus on its larger-than-life frontman, Freddie Mercury. The film has thus far received mixed reviews, with much praise for Rami Malek’s performance as Mercury alongside criticism for the cinematic liberties it takes with Mercury’s life.

Bohemian Rhapsody is nominated for five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Film Editing, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.

Here’s what’s fact and what’s fiction in Bohemian Rhapsody .

Were Freddie Mercury’s teeth as pronounced as Malek’s prosthetic teeth?

Malek said at the movie’s New York City premiere that he obtained the prosthetic teeth a year before filming so that he could get used to speaking and singing with them. Mercury’s teeth were indeed among his most defining traits, although they didn’t necessarily stand out in the way Malek’s false teeth occasionally do in the film. He was born with four extra upper teeth, which caused his front incisors to protrude forward. His personal assistant Peter Freestone said in an interview that Mercury’s teeth were a source of insecurity throughout his life, however he allegedly feared that corrective surgery would affect his singing abilities.

Did Queen record “Bohemian Rhapsody” at a countryside farmhouse?

The farmhouse recording studio where the band is shown composing the iconic operatics for the song “Bohemian Rhapsody” is known as Rockfield Studios. While the film positions the Rockfield as an unconventional and experimental recording destination, the former Welsh farmhouse was (and still is) considered a premiere studio.

Did Freddie Mercury love cats as ardently as the film depicts?

Yes, very much so . Mercury was the proud owner of several cats throughout his life. According to Freestone’s memoir, Mercury would speak to them on the phone while he was away from home.

Was Freddie Mercury’s sexuality accurately portrayed in the film?

One of the most important relationships in Mercury’s life was with Mary Austin (played by Lucy Boynton), whom he met before he rose to fame. In real life, Mercury and Austin lived together and were romantically involved — and at one point even engaged to be married — for several years in the 1970s. While their romance came to an end after Mercury began sleeping with men, the two maintained an incredibly close friendship throughout the remainder of Mercury’s life.

In the film, their relationship is presented with a bit more tension. As their romance begins to deteriorate on screen, Mercury tells Austin that he thinks he is bisexual, to which she responds, “No Freddie, you are gay.” While the movie from that point focuses on his sexual relationships with men, the reality was more complicated . According to Mercury and Me , a memoir by his partner Jim Hutton (portrayed by Aaron McCusker), Mercury continued to have sexual relationships with women and men after Austin.

Did Freddie Mercury meet future partner Jim Hutton at one of his own house parties?

No. In an interview he gave in 2006, Hutton said he and Mercury met at a gay bar in London. While it is true that they reunited after Hutton initially rejected Mercury years before, the scene in which Mercury vigilantly searches through the phone book to find Hutton before appearing on his doorstep is a bit of Hollywood flair. The truth, as Hutton stated, is that they simply reconnected years later, at another gay bar.

When was Freddie Mercury diagnosed with HIV?

The film positions the Live Aid concert in 1985 as not only its own climax but also the pivotal climax of Mercury’s career, with his health in decline following his diagnosis with HIV. In reality, Mercury wasn’t diagnosed with HIV until 1987 , two years after the concert.

Did Mercury’s manager, Paul Prenter, really betray him?

While the movie does take some creative license with his characterization, Prenter (played by Allen Leech), who died in 1991, was pretty reviled by the other members of Queen. In the film, Prenter goes on TV after he is fired to expose Mercury’s private life. In reality, Prenter still worked for Mercury at the time of the Live Aid concert, and while he never exposed Mercury’s private life on air, he did do so in print. According to Hutton’s book, Prenter sold a story to the tabloid The Sun in 1987 with the headline, “AIDS Kills Freddie’s Two Lovers.” It was this story that finally led to Mercury fire Prenter.

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Jim Hutton, Irish partner of Freddie Mercury, dead at 61

Jim hutton, the irish partner of the late pop idol freddie mercury, died on new year’s day, 2010, and was laid to rest in his hometown of carlow, ireland..

Freddie Mercury's Irish partner Jim Hutton was laid to rest in his hometown of Carlow. 

Jim Hutton, the Irish partner of the late pop idol Freddie Mercury , died on New Year’s Day, 2010, and was laid to rest in his hometown of Carlow, Ireland.

Hutton, a handsome and charismatic Irishman who also worked as a hairdresser for the Queen singer, died on January 1, 2010, after a long battle with cancer , just three days short of his 61st birthday.

Hutton lived with Queen frontman Mercury for the last six years of the pop singer’s life, and he was present at his bedside when the adored singer passed away at his Kensington home in London on November 24, 1991. 

Read more:  Five facts about Freddie Mercury’s former partner Jim Hutton

Freddie Mercury and his Irish partner Jim Hutton.

Mercury died of bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS after publicly acknowledging he had the disease just a day before his death. Mercury left his partner £500,000 as well as a plot of land at Rutland Terrace, Co. Carlow where Hutton built a house.

The bulk of the rock singer's vast estate went to Mary Austin, his former girlfriend of six years. Hutton himself tested positive for AIDS in 1990 but he didn’t tell Mercury for nearly a year afterward.

In the years after Mercury’s death, Hutton moved back to Ireland and is survived by his brothers, sisters, aunts and other relatives.

Read more:   How Freddie Mercury met his long-term Irish love, Carlow man Jim Hutton

* Originally published in January 2010. 

Related: Irish American , Music

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Old News, Vintage Photos & Nostalgic Stories

The secretive love story between freddie mercury and jim hutton.

The whole story of Freddie Mercury has to include Jim Hutton. As the frontman of the ever-captivating rock ‘n’ roll band “Queen” and one of the most talented stage performers of all time, Freddie Mercury enjoyed his popularity and stardom yet kept his private life, well… private.

He was a closed book during his lifetime when questioned about his sexuality, although it was widely speculated that he was gay or bisexual. Mercury was diagnosed with Aids in 1987 but this was not publicly announced until the day before he died, in 1991. Those close to him have since openly discussed many aspects of Mercury’s life.

Mercury’s partner Jim Hutton explained to Tim Teeman for  The Times of London  that they “were both naturally private” people.

“He might have worried about how coming out would have affected him professionally but he didn’t say that. We both thought our relationship, and being gay, was our business.”

The tragic death of Mercury was a sad loss for the world which grieved for this rarely gifted, free-spirited musician.

In the 1970s, the iconic music star was in a long-term relationship with a woman named Mary Austin with whom he lived for several years in London. However, by the mid-1970s, Mercury questioned and delved into his sexuality and began seeing a man.

After he confessed the affair to Austin, both of them decided to end their relationship yet remained close friends in the following years. Mercury’s deep affection and love toward Austin inspired him to write and dedicate several songs to her, including perhaps the most romantic of all Queen songs, “Love of My Life.”

In 1984, Jim Hutton and Mercury met in a club where Mercury made the first move by offering to buy him a drink. Hutton had another partner at the time, so he refused.

About a year later they met again and Mercury decided to try his luck again. The date worked out pretty well, and the two quickly ended up in a passionate, romantic relationship.

Reportedly, when they first met, Hutton wasn’t aware of who Mercury was, even when Freddie told him his name and occupation, Hutton remained indifferent. Hutton was a hairdresser and, at the time, he worked at the Savoy Hotel. After a couple of years of dating, Hutton moved into Mercury’s home known as the “Garden Lodge” but still retained his home in Sutton, Surrey.

He left his job at the Savoy and worked as a gardener in Mercury’s residence. Despite being always surrounded by the jet-set friends and acquaintances of Freddie, Hutton never accepted that lifestyle and preferred to stay away from it.

From 1985 until Mercury’s death in 1991, Hutton was Mercury’s dearest and the closest person who was recognized as such and much respected by Freddie’s closest friends and colleagues.

Although gay marriages were still a taboo at the time, Mercury referred to Hutton as “my husband,” and both of them wore marital rings. Reportedly, when Mercury was diagnosed with AIDS, he offered Hutton a way out of their relationship to which Hutton sincerely expressed his love and devotion by responding “I am not going anywhere.”

Though Mercury avoided talking about and revealing details of his private life, Hutton opened his heart to the public and shared his impressions and photographs of his life with Freddie in his memoir titled Mercury and Me , published in 1994.

This work showcases the romance and warm-hearted relationship of the couple, presenting images of their everyday life and the special moments during the years spent together. Inside the book, Hutton revealed some anecdotes and vivid stories of Mercury’s life, depicting an accurate and honest portrait of the legendary musician’s rise an fall.

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During the final days of his life, Hutton took care of Mercury and was even present when he passed away. Just like Mercury, Hutton was diagnosed with HIV but died due to a smoking-related illness in 2010.

Who Was Jim Hutton: The Longterm Partner of ‘Queen’ Fame Freddie Mercury

When British rock band Queen debuted in the early 70s, none would have thought they would go on to become one of the legendary acts to ever exist in music. But here we are decades later still jamming to Killer Queen, rocking out to Radio Ga Ga, clapping our hands to We Will Rock You, dancing to Crazy Little Things Called Love and trying to sing Bohemian Rhapsody. While each and every member of the band brought multiple talents that defined Queen, there is no denying the exposure their frontman Freddie Mercury brought them.

Freddie Mercury was a genius performer with a powerful vocal range and charismatic stage presence who knew how to take control of stadiums full of tens of thousands of people; the Live Aid ‘85. But taking aside his flamboyant stage persona, what do we really know about the man Freddie Mercury? Never having come out as queer throughout his life, Freddie Mercury had relationships with both men and women. One of his most significant partners was Jim Hutton who was with him in his final years. So who is Jim Hutton and what happened to him?

Jim was a Hairdresser

Born in Carlow, Ireland in 1949, Jim Hutton was working as a hairdresser to earn a living. Even after being in a relationship with Freddie, he continued to work as a hairdresser throughout their relationship.

Jim Hutton met Freddie at a Gay bar ‘Heaven’

Unlike in the 2018 biopic movie where Freddie and Jim meet at an extravagant party, they actually first met at a London gay bar Heaven in the early 1980s. Their first exchange was far from an immediate attraction where Jim even failed to recognize Freddie as the frontman of Queen. He even refused a drink offered from Freddie since he was already seeing someone else at that moment. But fate had other ideas as they met again some months later at a restaurant and then again at a club 18 months later. After this the two soon started seeing each other and even moved in his London home Garden Lodge not even a year later.     

Their relationship didn’t Have a Smooth Sailing

In his book ‘ Mercury and Me ’, Jim Hutton revealed that the initial days of his relationship with Freddie were not exactly harmonious. They even got into a fight after Jim saw Freddie leaving Heaven with another man. Another similar incident happened after Freddie was seen leaving his apartment with another man. Their on and off relationship finally stabilized after Jim gave Freddie an ultimatum to make up his mind which he agreed upon. Recalling this, Jim explained:

“Deep down I think that he wanted to be secure with someone who was down to earth and not is impressed by who he was.”

Jim Stayed with Freddie for Seven Years

After their initial hurdles, the couple started to live quite a normal life in their home. While his professional life was full of glitz and glamour, Freddie would go on doing mundane things with Jim. Jim recalled:

“He loved his cats. I’d get in from work. We’d lie together on the sofa. He would massage my feet and ask about my day.” 

Throughout his life, Freddie never came out publicly as a homosexual and rarely talked about his lover. Whenever he was asked about Jim he would always say that he was really happy in his relationship. He once talked about his relationship,:

“I finally found a niche that I was looking for all my life. It’s like I’m not. I don’t have to try so hard, I don’t have to prove myself. I’ve got a very understanding relationship.”

To symbolize their commitment to one another, both Jim and Freddie even wore gold wedding rings.  

The Live Aid concert was Jim’s First Rock Concert

Even though Jim was living together with the frontman of one of the biggest rock bands of that time, Jim Hutton had never seen Queen perform live. The Live Aid concert 1985, held to raise funds for the relief of the famine in Ethiopia, gave the world one of the greatest performances from Queen which Jim got to witness live from the backstage. Reminiscing about the concert, he said, “I was gobsmacked. You could feel the effect his stage presence had on the crowd.”

He stayed with Freddie throughout his battle with AIDS

It is said that Freddie Mercury showed symptoms of HIV as early as 1982 but he was only diagnosed as HIV/AIDS positive in late April of 1987. Freddie Mercury when questioned however denied that he had the disease . While he was battling with the disease, a small group of close ones stayed with him. Among them was his lover Jim Hutton. Remembering his revelation of his condition to Jim, he said:

“He said to me, ‘I would understand if you want to pack your bags and leave.’ I told him, ‘Don’t be stupid. I am not going anywhere.’”

Although Jim was nursing Freddie through his heartbreaking condition, it was pretty evident that he was not responding well to the medication albeit the medication itself was in its initial stage. Jim later on admitted that he was perhaps in denial regarding Freddie’s deteriorating health and had noticed how skeletal he had become on the morning of his last birthday. 

Remembering one of his last days, Jim talked about a day when Freddie suddenly wished to see his beloved art collection. He said:

“It was 6 a.m. He wanted to look at his paintings. ‘How am I going to get downstairs?’ He asked. ‘I’ll carry you,’ I said. But he made his own way holding on to a banister.”

Some days later, on November 24, 1991, Freddie Mercury passed away from bronchial pneumonia as a complication of AIDS. 

What did Freddie Mercury leave for his partner Jim Hutton?

The tragic loss of his partner left Jim devasted and he claimed he went ‘absolutely crazy’. Before dying, Freddie made sure that his partner would not have a hard time ahead in the future and left him a total sum of £500,000. However, Freddie left most of his wealth including the Garden Lodge where the couple was residing to his longtime friend and ex-girlfriend Mary Austin. 

He moved to Ireland after Freddie’s Death

Following the death of Freddie, Jim moved back to Ireland after Mary Austin allegedly gave him three months to move out of Garden Lodge. After going back, he used the money Freddie left him behind to build himself a home. A year later, he published his memoir ‘Mercury and me’ recounting some of his intimate moments with the singer. According to him, the book partially helped him through the grieving process of losing his loved one.  

Jim Succumbed to Cancer

Jim Hutton was diagnosed with HIV in 1990 but he did not tell Freddie until a year later. Throughout his life, he continued to live with HIV and did so for almost two decades. But apart from that, he was also diagnosed with lung cancer that ultimately took his life in 2010. Jim was only three days away from celebrating his 61st birthday. 

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Publish June 30, 2021 3:00 am

• Freddie Mercury's Final Love Affair
• Mary Austin, The Love of Freddie Mercury's Life
• What Happened After the Real Live Aid Concert
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• Inside the Live Aid Performance
• The Fascinating Life of Guitarist Brian May
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• Filming the Movie Version of the Live Aid Show
• Behind the Scenes of the 2018 Movie
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Everything We Know About Freddie Mercury’s Last Relationship

Freddie Mercury's relationship history is complex, but his relationship with Jim Hutton brought him happiness for the last seven years of his life.  Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton crossed paths long before entering into a relationship, but once they bonded, the two men remained devoted to each other until Mercury's death in 1991.

The details of Mercury and Hutton's relationship remain somewhat hidden, leaving many to ask who Jim Hutton really was. According to many observers and Hutton himself, the rock legend and the hairdresser had a normal relationship, full of ups and downs like any other.  

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When Mercury First Asked Hutton Out, Hutton Said 'No'

When Jim Hutton, an Irish hairdresser, and Freddie Mercury first met, it was anything but love at first sight. Mercury approached Hutton at a gay club in London in 1983, but Hutton didn't know who Mercury was. According to Hutton, who was dating a man named John Anderson at the time, Mercury wasn't his type so he turned the singer down for a drink. Mercury persisted, asking him about the size of his male anatomy . Hutton responded by telling him to "f*ck off."

Hutton remained in a relationship with John Anderson until the spring of 1984. He saw Mercury out at one point while eating dinner with Anderson, but there was no real contact between Hutton and Mercury. Hutton and Mercury crossed paths again at Heaven, a London night club, where the singer again offered Hutton a drink. He accepted this time, and joined Mercury's group of friends for dancing and drinking into the morning hours. 

Mercury And Hutton Used To Rub Each Other's Feet

Hutton recalled some of the quiet moments he and Mercury shared together. Hutton and Mercury would watch television or watch old movies, sitting side by side or laying in opposite directions next to each other while Hutton rubbed Mercury's feet. Hutton continued working as a hairdresser at The Savoy Hotel in London for a time. He remembered how much  Mercury  "loved his cats," saying, "I’d get in from work. We’d lie together on the sofa. He would massage my feet and ask about my day." 

After Mercury passed, Hutton explained to a reporter that the couple was content in their private domesticity . According to Hutton, "He might have worried about how coming out would have affected him professionally but he didn't say that. We both thought our relationship, and being gay, was our business."

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Hutton Claims He Was Thrown Out Of Mercury's Home After The Singer Passed

According to observers, there was growing tension between Mary Austin, Mercury's common-law wife, and Jim Hutton as Mercury's health faded. At one point, Mary suggested that Mercury remove the wedding ring he wore as a symbol of his union with Hutton. She claimed it would cause discomfort if his hand swelled. Moments like this foreshadowed the rift between Austin and Hutton that fully formed after Mercury's passing.

In his will, Mercury left Mary Austin half his fortune, as well as his home, Garden Lodge, and all of its contents. His parents and sister received the other half of his wealth. His live-in staff and friends, Jim Fanelli, Peter Freestone, and Jim Hutton, all got £500,000 . Hutton claimed he was evicted from Garden Lodge, despite Mercury's wishes that he stay. Fights ensued and many of the couple's friends refused to believe Mercury would have wanted Hutton ousted. Hutton left Garden Lodge in March 1992.

Hutton Had To Pretend To Be The Gardener When Mercury Had Visitors

At times, Hutton's exact place in Mercury's life was difficult to understand. After months of dating, Hutton moved into Mercury's Kensington mansion, Garden Lodge, but was introduced as the gardener . When Hutton first met Mercury's parents, Bomi and Jer, in 1988, it was under this pretense. If anyone asked, Jim slept in his own bedroom and there was no mention of a relationship.

Hutton was in a precarious position as an employee of Mercury who was also sleeping with him. His circumstances were made more awkward by the fact that he was paid for his work  through Mercury's companion, former fiancée, and Queen organization associate, Mary Austin. 

Mercury Treated Hutton Like A Husband But He Also Had A Common-Law Wife

Freddie Mercury was open about the fact that he never loved any of his partners the way he loved Mary Austin, even Jim Hutton. Mercury said , "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary, but it's simply impossible... I couldn't fall in love with a man the same way as I did with Mary."

This didn't stop Mercury from referring to Jim Hutton as his husband. Mercury once told a German reporter , "Piaf did it, so did Streisand. Now I have a hairdresser husband!" The men wore rings to symbolize their love and devotion to one another. 

During Mercury's Final Days, Hutton Attended To His Lover And Friend

As Mercury's health declined in 1991, Hutton and Mercury's other live-in friends, Peter Freestone and Jim Fanelli, would take turns tending to the ailing star. Hutton protected Mercury on one occasion, threatening to beat up a reporter who got too close to Garden Lodge. Hutton also kept his emotions to himself, claiming , "I often used to cry on my own, but I made sure Freddie never saw me upset." He added , "Throughout the day, for him I'd be strong, but his dying face haunts my nights, and I'd always end up crying myself to sleep." 

On of one of Mercury's last days, Hutton offered to carry Mercury down the stairs so he could look at his elaborate collection of paintings. Mercury made his way down the stairs on his own, with Hutton close by to prevent him from falling. When Mercury glimpsed the works of art, he simply stated, "Oh, they're wonderful."

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Rare Photos Of Freddie Mercury And His True Love Jim Hutton

Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton were in love, sharing that rare and binding force fed by honesty and conviction. The couple began dating in the mid 1980s, but their first meeting were anything but auspicious. It took Freddie three times of trying to pull John.

They first met in late 1983 at London’s Copacabana  nightclub. Freddie waited for Jim’s lover, John Alexander, to pop off to the gents before moving in, offering to buy Jim a drink. “No, thank you,” replied Jim, already supping a near-full can of lager. Freddie persisted, asking Jim what he was up to later. “Fuck off,” came the reply. When John returned, Jim pointed the man out who’d just tried to chat him up. “That’s Freddie Mercury,” said John. “Freddie who?” asked Jim.

In early 1984, the pair met at a London restaurant. “Hey, Freddie Mercury is behind you,” a voice told Jim. Freddie offered him a drink, which Jim accepted. And that was that until 18 months later on Saturday, March 23rd, 1985, John once again encountered Freddie at  Heaven , a gay nightclub in London’s Charing Cross. Stood at the bar, Freddie approached Jim, who offered the singer a drink. “A large vodka,” came the reply. “How big’s your dick?” asked Freddie. “Well, you’ll have to find out,” replied Jim, telling the singer to drop the phony American accent. “But I don’t have an American accent,” said Freddie, who invited Jim to join him and his friends.

This meeting had been no accident. Freddie had been looking for Jim. They remained together until Freddie’s untimely death in November 1991. Jim died in 2010.

On Freddie Mercury’s death, Jim wrote:

I slipped my arm under Freddie’s neck, kissed him and then held him. His eyes were still open. I can remember very clearly the expression on his face — and when I go to sleep every nighti t’s still there in front of me. He looked radiant. One minute he was a boy with a gaunt, sad little face and the next he was a picture of ecstasy. Freddie’s whole face went back to everything it had been before. He looked finally and totally at peace. Seeing him like that made me feel happy in my sadness. I felt an overwhelming sense of relief. I knew that he was no longer in pain. Dave Clark had only got as far as the doorway when Freddie died. He came back in to stay with me, and Phoebe rant o find Joe. I stopped the tiny fly-wheel of the wind-up carriage clock by the bed. I’d given it to Freddie because he told me he’d always wanted one. It read twelve minutes to seven. I’ve never started it again

Via  vintageeveryday , Mercury and Me , by Jim Hutton.

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Rarely Seen Photos of Freddie Mercury with His Long-Time Love Jim Hutton

The late singer Freddie Mercury is known for his amazing and unforgettable voice . He’s also remembered for his battle with AIDS, which he was diagnosed with in 1987 and died from complications of in 1991. Although the world lost Mercury too soon, he was not alone when he passed away. From 1985 to his death, Mercury was accompanied by his partner Jim Hutton.

It was Mercury who first pursued Hutton after meeting him in a club in 1984. Mercury offered to buy him a drink, but Hutton (unaware of Mercury's fame) said no; he was with someone at the time. Eighteen months later, the two bumped into each other again, and Hutton took him up on that drink. It’s here that they got together, and a couple of years later Hutton moved into Mercury's home known as the Garden Lodge .

Hutton remained dedicated to Mercury after he was diagnosed with AIDS—even though Mercury said he’d understand if they parted ways. Hutton stayed, however, and cared for him until he passed. This was long before marriage equality; despite that, Mercury called Jim his husband and the each wore rings.

Mercury was a famously private person, but Hutton shared photographs from his personal collection; they appear in his memoir titled Mercury and Me . The pictures are a candid and intimate chronicle of their loving relationship during this time. They also showcase the normalcy of the couple as they celebrated holidays, took vacations, and cuddle with their cat.

Like Mercury, Hutton was also diagnosed with HIV. He died in 2010 from a smoking-related illness.

Freddie Mercury was known for his amazing voice and battle with AIDS. Although the world lost him too soon, he wasn't alone when he died. His partner, Jim Hutton, was by his side.

The two met first met in 1984, but didn't get together until 1985. After that time, they were inseparable.

Mercury was famously private, but Hutton shared some of their candid photos in a memoir.

The endearing images show the two celebrating holidays, hanging out with friends, and cuddling their cat.

Hutton—who was also diagnosed with HIV—died in 2010 from a smoking-related illness.

h/t: [ Everyday Vintage ]

All images via Jim Hutton.

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The Story Of Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury’s Loving Relationship

Freddie Mercury, the Flamboyant Showman, had never imagined that someone would decline his invitation to a drink. But the man on the other end, Jim Hutton, an Irish hairdresser, had no idea who he was. Freddie Mercury was just another name to him.

Although the film depicted a different version of their first meeting, Freddie first met Jim in a bar and offered him drinks, but Jim declined. Hutton was already dating someone else at the time and had no idea who Freddie was. They met again 18 months later, but this time fate brought them together, and luckily Jim did not turn down Freddie’s offer. The couple remained together until Freddie’s death.

Jim Hutton witnessed some extraordinary moments during their relationship, such as Queen’s soaring Live Aid performance in 1985. “I was taken aback. You could feel the impact of his stage presence on the audience “He spoke about the show, which he watched from backstage. This was unusual for Hutton to witness, and after the show, Sir Elton John came up to him and said, “bastard, you’ve stolen it.”

Jim and Freddie started dating in 1985, and their relationship was built on solace and understanding. During their relationship, they both referred to each other as husbands, and the signer stated, “honestly couldn’t ask for better.”

After their second encounter, Jim and Freddie began dating, and Jim soon decided to leave his place and moved into Freddie’s home, Garden Lodge. But dating a celebrity has its downsides, and dating Freddie was no walk in the park.

During an interview, Jim recalled how, after a huge fight, he saw Freddie leaving with someone else, which Freddie later claimed he did to make his partner jealous.

This was not the only time Jim felt insecure, soon he saw Freddie getting his apartment with another man, and “told him he had to make his mind up.” To which Freddie replied with a simple “OK.” Jim Hutton later explained that he wanted to be “secure with someone who was down to earth, and he was not impressed by who he was.”

Life Behind Curtain With Freddie Mercury 

Freddie was a different guy on stage, the way he dealt with the fans and rocked the stage every single time with his voice was something exceptional, but when he was with Jim, he was a different guy, Hutton reminisced, “I’d get in from work. We’d lie together on the sofa, he would massage my feet and ask about my day.”

What started over a drink at a club would turn into a relationship that lasted until the end of Freddie’s life, although it remained a secret. Freddie never told his family about his homosexuality and never publicly came out.

On the other hand, Jim Hutton was not bothered by any of it, explaining, “he might have worried about how coming out would have affected him professionally, but he didn’t say that. We both thought about our relationship, and being gay was our business.”

They didn’t marry but wore wedding rings as a symbol of their commitment, gay marriage was nearly about two decades from being legalized in the United Kingdom at the time.

Freddie And AIDS

The Queen’s king and his partner’s relationship was cut tragically short after they came to know that Freddie has contracted AIDS. In 1987, he was first diagnosed with the disease, at the low point of his life, Freddie told Hutton. “I would understand if you wanted to pack your bags and leave.” 

But as Freddie said Show must go on, Hutton wasn’t about to abandon his partner just because their carefree days ended, and he replied, “don’t be stupid. I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the long haul.”

Jim helped nurse Freddie through private treatments at home, the fight against AIDS was still in his infancy in the late 1980s. Freddie took the AZT and refused to let his illness prevent him from living life his way. At the time Freddie filmed the music video for “Barcelona” against the doctor’s permission. But Hutton and his friend knew that he was slowly wasting away, and they were going to lose him.

Hutton later admitted that he was in denial of Freddie’s condition and that he “noticed how skeletal he’d become only on the morning of his last birthday.” Even Freddie sensed that his end was near and “decided to come off his AIDS medication three weeks before he died.” 

A day before Freddie passed away, he wanted to leave his sickbed and look at his paintings, Jim helped him get downstairs, and then carried him back upstairs, to which Freddie said “I never realized you were as strong as you are,” and this was the last conversation between the couple. 

The Queen’s legend passed away from bronchial pneumonia as a complication of AIDS on Nov. 24, 1991, at the age of 45.

Jim Hutton after Freddie’s Death

When the couple came to know that Freddie contracted the disease, there was still quite a strong public stigma attached to AIDS. Jim maintained silence about their relationship for some years after Freddie’s death, as he would never have wanted the truth to be made public, since “he wanted his private life kept private.” 

Jim was also sure that Freddie’s response to the critics insisting that he could have helped the gay community by coming out and being honest about the disease would have been, “f**k them, it’s my business.”

Jim Hutton was himself diagnose with AIDS for the first time in 1990, however he didn’t tell Freddie until a year later, to which they bother had the same reply “bastards.” In 1994, after the death of his partner he released a memoir, Freddie and Me, which in a way was his way to overcome his grief.

Jim Hutton and Mary Austin

Even though the singer referred to Hutton as his husband and wore wedding rings, he also referred to Mary Austin as “the love of my life.”

“All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible, the only friend I’ve got is Mary, and I don’t want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that’s enough for me.” Freddie said in a 1985 interview.

After Freddie’s death, Mary Austin took over Garden Lodge and gave Hutton three months time to leave the house, despite Hutton’s claim that Freddie wanted him to stay there. He was completely devastated by her decision. However, Freddie left Hutton, £500,000 (now $1 million) which he used to make his new home in Ireland.

Jim Hutton Book

Three years after Freddie died, Jim Hutton wrote a book titled, “ Mercury and Me .” Jim decided to write the book to ease the pain after losing his partner, Jim wrote the book, he’s also stated in an interview that he also wanted to correct a lot of misinformation going in the media, that Freddie had nobody when he died, he died alone.

Jim Hutton himself passed away from cancer in 2010, 4 days before his 61st birthday.

Now that you’ve read about the loving relationship of Jim Hutton and Freddie Mercury, read about Victor Lustig – The Conman who sold the Eiffel Tower, Twice.

Why James Bulger was murdered by Robert Thompson and Jon Venables

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The Truth About Freddie Mercury's Relationship With His Ex-Fiance

For a 2018 piece on Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin, Lesley-Ann Jones, author of Bohemian Rhapsody: The Definitive Biography , described to the New York Post a domestic scene that defined their relationship, which started in 1969 and continued to Mercury's death in 1991: "He would chuck a tube of toothpaste that was half-used into the waste bin and she would go into the bin and get it back and roll the toothpaste back up . . . and [say], 'You finish the tube. You can't be wasteful like this, Freddie.' He would say: 'But I'm the richest guy in the world!' And she would say, 'I don't care. You don't throw away money.'" Apparently, Freddie Mercury would only ever consent to being bossed around like that by her, even after their engagement ended. 

In 2000, Mary Austin described how she met Freddie Mercury to OK! Magazine . They met at Biba, a London fashion store that ran in the 60s and 70s, in 1969 where she worked customer PR and Freddie Mercury operated a fashion stall in Kensington Market with Roger Taylor, Queen's drummer. He later asked her out on his 24th birthday, but she refused: "I was trying to be cool." However, she relented the next day, and they went to see Mott the Hoople. Shortly after, they shared a studio apartment in Kensington for two years. Then when Queen released their first hit  Seven Seas of Rhye , they moved into a flat.

Engagement and disengagement

It was at this time that Freddie Mercury proposed to Mary Austin. On Christmas Day in 1973, he gave her a big box. Inside, as she described to  The Daily Mail , 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." Confused, she asked where she should put it on. "Ring finger, left hand," he answered. Then he elaborated "Because, will you marry me?" She accepted.

The marriage, however, never took place. As Queen grew ever more successful, their relationship cooled. Freddie Mercury started staying out to increasingly late hours, prompting Austin to wonder whether he was sleeping with another woman. The tension mounted until 1976 when he finally sat her down to talk. He was bisexual. "'No Freddie ,'" Austin remembers saying, "'I don't think you are bisexual. I think you are gay.'"

After that, according to Refinery29 , their physical relationship ended, but their connection deepened. Freddie Mercury bought her a flat nearby his apartment and employed her as his personal assistant. Austin would go on to marry twice, first to a painter named Piers Cameron and had two sons with him. Later, she married a businessman called Nick Holford, a relationship that only lasted five years. "[Piers] always felt overshadowed by Freddie," Austin explained to OK! Magazine . "Freddie had widened the tapestry of my life so much... There was no way I'd want to desert him ever."

A friend for life

Although Freddie Mercury maintained a relationship with Jim Hutton for the final seven years of his life, he still seemed to keep a unique place for her in his heart. In a 1985 interview — about the time his relationship with Hutton began — he declared that "All my lovers asked me why they couldn't replace Mary, but it's simply impossible. The only friend I've got is Mary, and I don't want anybody else. To me, she was my common-law wife. To me, it was a marriage. We believe in each other, that's enough for me."

Lest anyone think that these feelings dissipated with his new relationship, Freddie Mercury left his London home, a 28-room Edwardian mansion, as well as £9 million to her in his will. In a widely quoted explanation to Austin about why he would do this, he said "You would have been my wife and it would have been yours anyway."

The reason for Freddie Mercury's devotion seems to be that she was always there. As Mark Blake, author of Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Freddie Mercury and Queen , tells Biography , "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." Surrounded by sycophants as any rock icon is,  the time with spent with Mary Austin in their studio before the fame and money came in proved her friendship.

Having stayed with Mercury throughout his battle with AIDs, their relationship intensified as the focus on his diminishing life did. "During those times I did really feel such love for him," Austin remembers , "They were the moments I remembered every time I looked at his bed. I would sit every day next to the bed for six hours, whether he was awake or not. He would suddenly wake up and smile and say, 'Oh, it's you, old faithful.'" 

So, of course, Austin was devastated when he finally chose to die. "It was the loneliest and most difficult time of my life after Freddie died," she admitted in the  OK! Magazine profile. It took her five years before she could even feel comfortable in the house he left her. 

But perhaps most tellingly, she too expressed a feeling that a kind of marriage had occurred between the two: "I lost somebody who I thought was my eternal love. When he died I felt we'd had a marriage. We'd lived our vows. We'd done it for better for worse, for richer for poorer. In sickness and in health. You could never have let go of Freddie unless he died. Even then it was difficult." It was, by most people's standards, a strange relationship. However, the amount they gave each other and trusted each other saw them through situations that would prove insurmountable for many others. 

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What Happened to Freddie Mercury’s Long-Term Partner, Jim Hutton?

Freddie Mercury ‘s identity became so wrapped up in his frontman status for the band Queen that many fans can hardly separate the two. It might be surprising to know that Mercury actually started out as a kind of groupie for the band the other members of Queen were in prior to teaming up to form one of the most famous rock bands in the world. 

The success the band went on to see created a lasting legacy that has their performances and songs going down in the history books. Mercury himself has left a lasting impression, and his individual legacy lives on as well.

Though he died in 1991, the success of his 2018 biopic  Bohemian Rhapsody demonstrates just how much his legend continues to mean to fans new and old. 

Some also have questions about Mercury’s personal life, which was notoriously complex. Upon his death, what happened to his longtime partner, Jim Hutton, and is Hutton still alive today? 

How did Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton meet?

As viewers of  Bohemian Rhapsody saw, Mercury’s love life was defined by two people: Mary Austin and Jim Hutton. The film left out a lot of the details of how these loves shaped Mercury and intertwined throughout his life.

Mercury met Austin — who was working in a boutique — when he was just 24 and years from the explosion in his fame. The pair started an intense romance and even got engaged, but the wedding was called off when Mercury came out to her as bisexual, according to  Vanity Fair . However, “they remained incredibly close, with Mercury buying her a home and always speaking fondly of her in public.”

Here are the true stories of Mary Austin and Jim Hutton, who entered Freddie Mercury’s life at crucial times and remained close to him until his death in 1991 https://t.co/1fMDMNQCsc — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) November 3, 2018

Hutton was a hairdresser, and he met Mercury in a 1980s gay bar. Mercury offered Hutton a drink, but Hutton — who didn’t recognize Mercury as the superstar he was — turned him down.

It wasn’t until over a year later when the pair again met up in a bar that Hutton accepted Mercury’s offer for a drink. Soon after, Hutton moved in with Mercury, and the pair began a seven-year relationship that ended with Mercury’s 1991 death.

Did Jim Hutton get anything in Freddie Mercury’s will?

When Mercury died after a harrowing battle with AIDS, his will became a source of some contention. Mercury’s relationship with Hutton had remained a secret since he never publicly came out. He also declared his ongoing affection for Austin despite the end of their engagement and romantic relationship. 

Hutton was honored in Mercury’s will. In fact, Mercury left his partner £500,000 (about $1 million today), according to  All Things Interesting . However, Hutton had to use much of that money to relocate because Mercury had left his home — Garden Lodge — to Austin. She moved in and took over, giving Hutton about three months to clear out and find a new residence. Hutton used his bequeathed fortune to return to Ireland.

Is Freddie Mercury’s partner, Jim Hutton, still alive? 

Freddie Mercury and Jim Hutton, 1985 pic.twitter.com/1zfFEzsg1X — Marina Amaral (@marinamaral2) March 17, 2019

Following his relocation to Ireland, Hutton poured his grief into a memoir titled  Mercury and Me . He detailed his time with the famous singer and opened up about his own experiences through the relationship.

Hutton stated that he was devastated by Austin’s decision to remove him from the home and maintained Mercury had intended for him to remain there. 

Hutton went on to live for many more years before losing his battle with cancer in 2010. He was just shy of his 61st birthday at the time of his death. 

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Freddie Mercury avrebbe 78 anni: la compagna Mary Austin, la lunga unione con Jim Hutton, storia dei suoi amori

Le tappe della vita sentimentale del frontman e leader dei Queen, scomparso nel 1991

Oggi compirebbe 78 anni

Il 5 settembre 1946 nasceva a Zanzibar, all’epoca protettorato britannico, Freddie Mercury. Leader e frontman dei Queen, band che fondò con il chitarrista Brian May e il batterista Roger Taylor, nel corso della sua vita ha scritto canzoni immortali come «Don't Stop Me Now», «Somebody to Love», «We Are the Champions» e «Bohemian Rhapsody». Qualche mese fa è stata messa in vendita la sua storica casa londinese , Garden Lodge, per anni meta di pellegrinaggio da parte dei fan. Qui Freddie visse per circa 11 anni, fino alla sua prematura scomparsa avvenuta nel 1991. «Da quando io e Freddie abbiamo varcato la famosa porta verde, questa casa è diventato il luogo della pace, una vera casa d’artista. Ma ora è il momento di affidarla a qualcun altro», ha dichiarato Mary Austin, grande amica (ed ex compagna) di Mercury, che ha vissuto a Garden Lodge negli ultimi 30 anni.

5 settembre - 07:46

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