What Happened to Freddie Mercury’s Former Fiancée Mary Austin After His Death? All About the Woman the Queen Frontman Called His 'Only Friend'

Mar. 15, 2025

Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin on November 5, 1985 in London.Photo:Dave Hogan/Getty

Dave Hogan/Getty

Freddie Mercury’s former fiancée, Mary Austin, remained one of his closest friends until his death.

The iconicQueenfrontman met Austin in 1969, a year before the band formed. After dating for a few years, they got engaged in 1973, but it didn’t last. Mercury broke it off three years later, according to theNew York Post.

Though they ended their romantic relationship, Mercury and Austin stayed in each other’s lives untilhis death from AIDS-related complicationsin 1991 — and the two loved each other as if they were married.

“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.”

After his death, Mercury left Austin the majority of his fortune, as well as his mansion in Kensington and all of his possessions — which she kept for over 30 years before selling everything in recent years.

Their relationship was also depicted in the 2018 biopic,Bohemian Rhapsody, starringRami Malekas Mercury andLucy Boyntonas Austin.

So where is Mary Austin Now? Here’s everything to know about her friendship with Freddie Mercury and what she’s doing today.

Who is Mary Austin?

Mary Austin poses for a portrait on September 3, 1984.Rogers/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty

Rogers/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty

Like Mercury — whose parents were a court cashier and a homemaker in Zanzibar — Austin grew up in a working class family in Battersea, South London.

Both of her parents were deaf and communicated through sign language, while her dad worked as a wallpaper trimmer and her mom as a domestic helper, according to theDaily Mail.

After meeting Mercury in 1969, Austin with in a relationship with the artist for about seven years before he came out to her as bisexual.

How did Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin meet?

Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin at the Ivor Novello Awards in May 1987.Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty

Dave Hogan/Hulton Archive/Getty

Austin met Mercury in 1969 when she was 19 while working at the clothing store Biba in Kensington, West London, she recalled in the 2000 documentaryFreddie Mercury: The Untold Story.

At the time, Mercury — then 24 years old — and future Queen drummerRoger Taylorwere running a clothing stall in Kensington Market, where Mercury and Austin first encountered each other.

It was a year before Queen formed in 1970, but Austin immediately saw Mercury’s uniqueness. In a conversation with theDaily Mail, she described him as a “wild-looking artistic musician.”

“He was like no one I had met before. He was very confident – something I have never been," she added. “We grew together. I liked him and it went on from there.”

The couple fell in love and moved into a shared apartment on Holland Road in London.

What was Mary Austin’s relationship like with Freddie Mercury?

Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin at an after-party for Queen’s Wembley concerts on July 12, 1986 in London.Dave Hogan/Getty

Mercury and Austin’s romantic relationship was short-lived, but their friendship spanned decades.

A few years after the couple started dating, Mercury proposed to Austin on Christmas Day in 1973. She told theDaily Mailthat although they were happy together, the proposal was a complete surprise.

“I looked at it and was speechless. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t understand what’s going on,’ ” Austin told the outlet. “It wasn’t what I’d expected at all. So I asked him, ‘Which hand should I put this on?’ And he said, ‘Ring finger, left hand.’ ”

After a few years, Mercury called off the engagement, and their physical relationship deteriorated. Austin suspected something was wrong, as Mercury wasn’t behaving like himself. She believed it was because he was cheating on her, but she realized what was going on when Mercury came out to her in 1976.

“It was a relief actually to hear it from him,” Austin said inFreddie Mercury: The Untold Story. “I felt like a huge burden had been lifted. Once that had been discussed, he was like the person I’d known in the early years.”

Despite their romantic involvement ending, the two didn’t completely separate from each other.

Over time, Austin moved in and out ofMercury’s Kensington mansion— nicknamed Garden Lodge, which he bought in 1980. They lived together for two decades until Mercury died.

“We lived those 20-odd years together. Under the same roof. Together emotionally,” Austin told theDaily Mailin 2013.

Austin was at the Kensington home with Mercury during his final days while he suffered from health complications due to hisAIDS diagnosis— which he received four years earlier in 1987.

Austin was devastated after Mercury’s death. “I lost my family, really, when Freddie died,” she told the publication. “He was everything to me.”

What happened to Mary Austin after Freddie Mercury’s death?

Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin during his 38th birthday party in September 1984 in London.Dave Hogan/Getty

When Mercury died at 45 on Nov. 22, 1991, Austin was given his home, possessions and a financial stake in Queen.

The singer left his 28-room Kensington mansion to Austin — includingall of his belongingsinside of it — and the majority of his fortune.

Austin told theDaily Mailthat she viewed the responsibility of the house and the money as overwhelming. “I found myself thinking, ‘Oh Freddie, you’ve left me too much and too much to deal with as well.’ I felt I couldn’t live up to it,” she recounted.

Despite the difficulties, Austin lived in Mercury’s mansion for over 30 years until she put the house on the market in February 2024.

What did Mary Austin do with Freddie Mercury’s home and possessions?

Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin at the Ivor Novello Music Awards on April 15, 1987 in London, England.Steve Wood/Mirrorpix via Getty

Steve Wood/Mirrorpix via Getty

In February 2024, Austin decided to list the property for sale, asking for offers “in excess of” 30 million pounds (approximately $38 million).

In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Austin described the home as “the most glorious memory box” filled with “love and warmth in every room” — as the home remained mostly exactly how Mercury left it.

“It has been a joy to live in and I have many wonderful memories here,” she said. “Ever since Freddie and I stepped through the fabled green door, it has been a place of peace, a true artist’s house, and now is the time to entrust that sense of peace to the next person.”

The house is not publicly listed, and it’s unclear whether it has sold since it was put on the market.

Austin also listed the majority of Mercury’s possessions — aside from a few “personal gifts” and photos of the two together — for auction in 2023.

Where is Mary Austin now?

Mary Austin attends the Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy Charity Dinner at The Grosvenor House Hotel on November 5, 2002 in London.Dave Benett/Getty

Dave Benett/Getty

Over the years, Austin has maintained a private life.

She has two adult sons who also keep their lives out of the public eye. Austin welcomed them with ex-husband painter Piers Cameron in the early 1990s. She was later briefly married to businessman Nick Holford, which ended in divorce.

In the years since Mercury’s death, Austin has spoken about how she continues to remember him. “I miss the fun, the humor, his warmth, his energy,” she toldthe BBCin 2023.

source: people.com