Despite decades of troubling activity having sullied his name and reputation, an upbeat George Michael appears to not have a care in the world as he sits down for his first interview in months to announce that he was healthy, sober, and, most importantly, straight. "After years of denying who I was at the expense of my health and my sanity, I decided that enough was enough," says the tanned singer by the pool of his rented Hollywood estate. "From the moment I picked up a microphone, being gay was the only thing that allowed me entrance into the UK dance scene."
With the success of Wham's music all around the world, the gay rumors followed the do and became so commonplace that most people resumed Michael was gay. Even videos showing Michael cavorting with sexy women, as on "I Want Your Sex" and "Faith", seemed to only further Michael's "gay mystique".
Behind the scenes, living such a lie was taking a heavy toll on the singer, who began abusing drugs and alcohol. In 2005, he was caught in a Bel-Air hotel suite with model/actress Rebecca Romijn-Stamos. While the incident quickly faded from the tabloids as a total non-story, Romijn-Stamos' marriage to actor John Stamos would end later that year.
"I was dying inside," says an exasperated Michael in between sips of tea. "Everytime I got caught with a woman, I feared that this would be the one that would break the camel's back. When it didn't, I figured I needed to confirm my homosexuality, hence the L.A. public bathroom arrest and snogging that old truck driver."
These days, Michael is happy to no longer be living a lie and is currently linked to actress Ann Heche, who battled her own demons while attempting to maintain her perceived homosexuality by going public with news of her relationship with talk show host Ellen DeGeneres. "Naturally, we bonded over our similar life experiences," explains Michael. "But then we came to love each other deeply and our pasts became something we needed to say goodbye to once and for all."
As for what the future holds, Michael is working on a new album and hopes that he can find an audience that can accept him for who he is. Perhaps his t-shirt says it all: "I'm here, I'm NOT queer, get used to it,"
To read the full interview, click HERE.
I just found this article, and I am trying to figure out if this is just publicity? I had heard about George and some woman he fell in love with, but that was in the Wham days. I really hope to hear from someone about this!
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