From this ...to these
Ramshackle home George’s lover escaped for life of luxury with star
IT stands in the middle of a ramshackle Brisbane suburb, one of the most crime-ridden in Australia.
In this unremarkable single-storey house, which borders a small park littered with shopping trolleys, George Michael’s boyfriend grew up in a poor but loving family – before leaving in his early 20s to ‘seek fame’.
Now, 10,000 miles away, 40-yearold Fadi Fawaz – who found Michael, 53, dead in his bed on Christmas Day – has retreated to the singer’s £4million Central London mews house.
Close to Regent’s Park, it is one of three luxury homes the couple shared during their five-year relationship. Most recently, George stayed at his 16th Century cottage in Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire, where he died. While in London, they mainly spent time at his £18million mansion in Highgate.
How long Fadi can remain at the mews house is unclear. So too is whether he is in line for a slice of the singer’s £105million fortune.
Either way, Mr Fawaz has come a long way from his humble upbringing in Logan Central, Queensland, where unemployment rates are twice the Australian national average. His mother Nada remains at the family home and has been in regular contact with her son since he found himself at the centre of global interest following the tragedy.
Mr Fawaz is due to be questioned for a second time by police as they try to piece together the former Wham star’s last movements.
For now, the cause of death is unexplained, although there is suspicion he may have suffered a drugs overdose. Mr Fawaz, meanwhile, has still to publicly explain contradictory statements he made in the aftermath of Michael’s death.
Asked how her son was coping with the media storm, Nada said: ‘I am very sorry but you will understand I can’t speak about this.’
Over the past week, Mr Fawaz has been comforted by his brother, Nabil, an Amsterdam-based hairdresser. Yesterday Nabil said: ‘Everything will come out in the end. My poor brother is devastated. He is broken. The whole family has been destroyed by what is happening.’
Asked how Mr Fawaz was coping, he replied: ‘My brother, he is sad. He is devastated. He is “kapoot” as they say in Holland. He is broken.’
He added: ‘My poor brother is talking too much now.’
After leaving Logan in 2003, Fadi Fawaz, who was born in Lebanon, moved first to Sydney where he worked as a male model, before switching to London.
At one point he worked as a porn model – though he denies this – and his relationship with Michael is said to have begun some years later.