Despite earning a reputation for a wild sex life and wearing his heart on his bicep, Freddie Mercury once told reporters: "I couldn’t fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary."
But few people knew anything of Mary Austin - the only woman to steal The Queen singer's heart - before Bohemian Rhapsody hit screens last year.
The legendary musician thought of Mary as his "common-law" wife and the pair's romance and friendships have been retold to the masses thanks to the Oscar-nominated movie starring Rami Malek.
The biopic was awarded best film at the Golden Globes last weekend and has made almost £600million at the box office.
And the film's huge success will see Freddie's former fiancée Mary receive a windfall of around £40million in royalties.
Mary, played by Lucy Boynton in the film, wasn't involved in the making of the biopic but is said to have given her approval.
The pair remained friends until his death from Aids-related pneumonia in 1991. Freddie left Mary half of his £75m estate, including his West London mansion.
He also left her 50 percent of his future earnings. A further 25 percent went to his parents and 25 percent to his sister.
Mary's share increased to 75 percent after the death of Freddie's parents.
According to financial records, reported by the Daily Mail, future earnings of Queen have split four ways between the Freddie Mercury estate and his three surviving bandmates – guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon. Mary receives around 19 percent.
The film follows the story of Queen from their origins to Live Aid, but mostly focuses on lead singer Freddie Mercury, his love life, career, and struggles.
Mercury's sexuality is well documented. He was a well know 'gay singer', but things were more complex than that - there was Mary.
"All my lovers asked me why they couldn’t replace Mary, but it’s simply impossible," Mercury once said.
"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. I couldn’t fall in love with a man the same way as I have with Mary.”
For a man who once said: “I’ll sleep with anything — man, woman or cat," this may come as a surprise to Mercury's fans.
Mary stood apart from the 'rock lifestyle'. She was a sweet, working-class girl, brought up by her deaf parents and loyal to the end.
Critics have accused the movie of "straight-washing", but Mercury and Mary's relationship was real - if undefined - and more complicated than that.
