Random Thing We Know About Freddie Mercury’s Last Relationship (12 items)

• 

  (#11) Hutton Also Contracted HIV And Died Of Cancer In 2010

  Jim Hutton returned to Ireland in the 1990s. He surrounded himself with cats and dogs, gardened, and lived a quiet life. He spent time with his family and occasionally worked odd jobs to make ends meet. 

  Jim Hutton succumbed to lung cancer in 2010. Despite assertions that his passing was due to complications from HIV, a disease that Hutton, too, had contracted, he passed away from cancer on New Years Day 2010.

  Hutton wrote an account of his life with Mercury, a memoir entitled Mercury and Me, to share his own experiences with Mercury. 
• 

  (#7) Mercury Kept Tabs On Hutton Before They Started Dating

  After being rejected by Hutton, Freddie Mercury supposedly did his best to keep track of where the mustached Irishman spent his time. According to Hutton, Mercury was working in Germany for most of 1984, but when he would return to London, he'd frequent the gay club, Heaven. On his way to the club, Mercury would have his driver take a detour by the Market Tavern, where Hutton spent his much of his free time, to see if he was there. 

  Hutton wasn't a fan of Heaven - he called it "impersonal." However, on March 23, 1985, he decided to party at the popular club. When he went to the bar to get a drink, he was once again approached by Mercury. The singer offered to buy him a drink, but Hutton ended up buying Mercury one instead. 
• 

  (#9) After Their First Night Together, Mercury Didn't Call Hutton For Three Months

  Mercury and Hutton's first night together, full of drinking and dancing at Heaven in London, ended at the singer's home in Kensington. They flirted with each other all night and ended up in bed, but were both too inebriated to do anything more than cuddle. The next day, Mercury made Hutton tea and the men exchanged phone numbers. Hutton didn't hear from Mercury for three months, when the singer called to invite him to a dinner party.

  Hutton bought flowers to take with him to the party but threw them away before he got there, embarrassed by his own romantic gesture. The dinner party included several of Mercury's friends and staff members, including Peter Freestone (Mercury's assistant), Paul Prenter (Mercury's personal manager), and Joe Fanelli (Mercury's chef), who all asked probing questions to try to find out more about Hutton. Hutton was apprehensive and intentionally evasive, but his chemistry with Mercury was undeniable. Mercury explained that he hadn't called sooner because he had been in Germany working and had been on tour. 
• 

  (#6) 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."
• 

  (#5) 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. 
• 

  (#2) 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."

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking