Editing Freddie Mercury (section)

===Relationships===
[[File:Freddie house.JPG|thumb|right|upright|12 Stafford Terrace in [[Kensington]], London, one of Mercury's former homes]]
In the early 1970s, Mercury had a long-term relationship with Mary Austin, whom he met through guitarist Brian May. Austin, born in [[Fulham]], London, met Mercury in 1969 when she was 19 and he was 23 years old, a year before Queen had formed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Freddie Mercury and Mary Austin: Their love story in pictures |url=https://www.vogue.fr/wedding/galerie/freddie-mercury-mary-austin-love-couple-vintage-photos |access-date=1 December 2021 |work=Vogue |archive-date=10 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211110064156/https://www.vogue.fr/wedding/galerie/freddie-mercury-mary-austin-love-couple-vintage-photos |url-status=live }}</ref> He lived with Austin for several years in [[West Kensington]], London. By the mid-1970s, he had begun an affair with David Minns, an American record executive at [[Elektra Records]]. In December 1976, Mercury told Austin of his sexuality, which ended their romantic relationship.<ref name="LesleyJones">{{harvnb|Jones|2011|p=3, Ch. 7, Mary}}</ref> Mercury moved out of the flat they shared, and bought Austin a place of her own near his new address of 12 Stafford Terrace, Kensington.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jones |first1=Lesley-Ann |date=2012|title=Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury |publisher=Simon and Schuster |page=162}}</ref>

Mercury and Austin remained friends through the years; Mercury often referred to her as his only true friend. In a 1985 interview, he said of Austin: "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."<ref>{{cite book |last=Jones |first=Lesley-Ann |author-link=Lesley-Ann Jones |title=Mercury: An Intimate Biography of Freddie Mercury |url=https://archive.org/details/mercuryintimateb00jone |url-access=registration |publisher=Simon & Schuster |date=2012 |page=[https://archive.org/details/mercuryintimateb00jone/page/83 83] |isbn=978-1-4516-6397-6}}</ref> Mercury's final home, [[Garden Lodge, Kensington|Garden Lodge]], an 8-bedroom [[Georgian architecture|Georgian]] mansion in Kensington set in a quarter-acre manicured garden surrounded by a high brick wall, was picked out by Austin.<ref name="Jackson2011"/> Austin married the painting artist Piers Cameron; they have two children. Mercury was the godfather of her older son, Richard.<ref name="Longfellow_2006"/> In his will, Mercury left his London home to Austin, having told her, "You would have been my wife, and it would have been yours anyway."<ref>{{cite interview |last=Austin |first=Mary |subject2=Freddie Mercury |interviewer=Midge Ure |title=The Mysterious Mr Mercury |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0171x1k |work=[[BBC]] Radio 4 |date=12 November 2011 |access-date=12 November 2011 |archive-date=30 March 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150330025741/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0171x1k |url-status=live }}</ref>

From 1979 to 1985, while living in [[Munich]], Mercury was friends with Austrian actress [[Barbara Valentin]], who is featured in the video for "[[It's a Hard Life]]", and initially lived together with her and her daughter before moving into his own apartment.<ref name="bardola">{{cite book |title=Mercury in München: Seine besten Jahre |trans-title=Mercury in Munich: His best years |last=Bardola |first=Nicola |publisher=[[Heyne Verlag]] |year=2021 |isbn=978-3641276539}}</ref><ref name="BR_2021">{{cite AV media |title=Sechs Jahre hat Freddie Mercury in München gelebt - eine Spurensuche |trans-title=Freddie Mercury lived in Munich for six years - a search for clues |url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/YqhkiNg1OPg |publisher=[[Bayerischer Rundfunk]] |date=4 October 2021 |language=de |access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref> In Munich, Mercury was able to escape the media spotlight, lived out his sexuality, drifted in the local gay scene, and had an intense love relationship with German restaurateur Winfried "Winnie" Kirchberger.<ref name="bardola"/><ref name="amsler">{{cite magazine |last=Amsler |first=Jose-Luis |url=https://www.rollingstone.de/freddie-mercury-muenchen-beste-jahre-2341255/ |title=Mercury in München: Neues Buch beleuchtet Freddie Mercurys Münchner Jahre |trans-title=Mercury in Munich: New book sheds light on Freddie Mercury's Munich years |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=6 August 2021 |access-date=25 October 2023 |language=de |archive-date=10 September 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240910064149/https://www.rollingstone.de/freddie-mercury-muenchen-beste-jahre-2341255/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title = The Love of Sebastianseck | url = http://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/musikgeschichten-die-liebe-vom-sebastianseck-1.872519 | last = Raab | first = Klaus | newspaper = [[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] | date = 17 May 2010 | access-date = 15 April 2017 | language = de | archive-date = 9 September 2017 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170909130101/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/musikgeschichten-die-liebe-vom-sebastianseck-1.872519 | url-status = live }}</ref> Mercury also lived temporarily at Kirchberger's apartment<ref>{{cite book |last=Freestone |first=Peter |date=7 January 2010 |title=Freddie Mercury: An Intimate Memoir by the Man who Knew Him Best |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2y6f_ReQOsC&pg=PT118 |publisher=Omnibus Press |page=118 |isbn=978-0857121271}}</ref> and thanked him "for board and lodging" in the liner notes of his 1985 album ''Mr. Bad Guy''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.queenvault.com/linernotes/mrbadguylinernotes.html |title=Mr Bad Guy |website=QueenVault |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=1 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201224336/http://www.queenvault.com/linernotes/mrbadguylinernotes.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He wore a silver wedding band given to him by Kirchberger.<ref name="Hutton">{{cite book |last=Hutton |first=Jim |date=7 July 1995 |title=Mercury and Me |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing PLC |isbn=0747521344}}</ref> A close friend described him as Mercury's "great love" in Germany.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bauszus |first=Jan |title=Zum 20. Todestag von Freddie Mercury: Freddie war keine Hete, er war schwul |url=https://www.focus.de/kultur/musik/tid-24267/zum-20-todestag-von-freddie-mercury-freddie-war-keine-hete-er-war-schwul_aid_687143.html |website=FOCUS Online |date=24 November 2011 |access-date=27 June 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801020009/https://www.focus.de/kultur/musik/tid-24267/zum-20-todestag-von-freddie-mercury-freddie-war-keine-hete-er-war-schwul_aid_687143.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

By 1985, he began another long-term relationship, with Irish-born hairdresser Jim Hutton (1949–2010) whom he referred to as his husband.<ref>{{cite news |last=Sweeney |first=Ken |title=Partner of Queen star Freddie buried |url=http://www.independent.ie/national-news/partner-of-queen-star-freddie-buried-1997689.html |newspaper=[[Irish Independent]] |location=Dublin |date=4 January 2010 |access-date=27 August 2010| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100115062733/http://www.independent.ie/national-news/partner-of-queen-star-freddie-buried-1997689.html| archive-date=15 January 2010| url-status=dead}}</ref> Mercury described their relationship as one built on solace and understanding, and said that he "honestly couldn't ask for better".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Greg |last2=Lupton |first2=Simon |title=Freddie Mercury: A Life, In His Own Words |publisher=Mercury Songs Ltd |date=5 September 2019 |page=88 |asin=B07X35NLG7}}</ref> Hutton, who tested [[HIV-positive]] in 1990, lived with Mercury for the last seven years of his life, nursed him during his illness, and was present at his bedside when he died. Mercury wore a gold wedding band, given to him by Hutton in 1986, until the end of his life. He was cremated with it on.<ref name="Hutton"/> Hutton later relocated from London to the bungalow he and Mercury had built for themselves in Ireland.<ref name="Hutton"/>