Amy Winehouse struggled with her sexuality, an ex-lover has claimed.
Catriona Gourlay, who was one of the singer’s closest friends, said the pair had an ‘undefined’ relationship where they ‘loved each other’ but it left the star feeling ‘confused’.
She made the confession on the BBC Two documentary Reclaiming Amy, which will air next week to mark 10 years since the singer’s death.
‘We loved each other but she was confused’: Amy Winehouse’s female ex-lover Catriona Gourlay has said the late star struggled with her sexuality (pictured together)
‘When I was 19/20, I’d already been in a long-term relationship with a girl at this point, so I knew who I was,’ Catriona said, according to Metro.
‘She [Amy] used to write notes while I was sleeping, “You were the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen,” and “How can you look as beautiful asleep as you do awake?”
‘Our relationship was so unique, undefined, we just loved each other very much and what I took from it, knowing her, is that she was confused about what it made her.’
Gone too soon: The confession was made on the BBC Two documentary Reclaiming Amy, which will air next week to mark 10 years since the singer’s death (pictured in 2007)
She continued: ‘When you have something that is so undefined for years, it’s hard because it’s the thing that I think is so fundamental in understanding her and the things that did trouble her.’
Catriona also recalled that Amy once joked in an interview ‘I am not a lesbian until I’ve had four sambucas’.
She added: ‘Perhaps people don’t realise that there were other relationships in her life where someone really did love her and care about her and would have done anything in her power to make her happy.’
Struggle: Catriona Gourlay, who was one of the singer’s closest friends, said the pair had an ‘undefined’ relationship where they ‘loved each other’ but it left the star feeling ‘confused’
Amy’s most high-profile relationship was with Blake Fielder-Civil.
Troubled Amy married on-off boyfriend Blake in May 2007 however their turbulent relationship soon spiralled out of control and in August of that year the pair were photographed, bloodied and bruised, in the streets of London after an alleged fight.
Amy divorced former video production assistant Blake – who has since confessed he introduced the star to heroin – in August 2009.
In July 2011, Amy passed away following a vodka binge alone in her bedroom, where she was found by her security guard. Despite years of drug abuse, she was clean at the time of her death.
The singer’s life and struggles will be examined in the BBC2 documentary Reclaiming Amy.
In the film, the star’s mother Janis will tell the story of one of the UK’s greatest musical icons through new parts of her life that the public have never heard about.
Janis said: ‘I don’t feel the world knew the true Amy, the one that I brought up, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to offer an understanding of her roots and a deeper insight into the real Amy.’
She says in the documentary: ‘You think you know my daughter. The drugs, the drink, the addiction, the destructive relationships. But there was so much more.’
Tragic: Amy’s most high-profile relationship was with Blake Fielder-Civil. Troubled Amy married on-off boyfriend Blake in 2007 and they divorced in 2009 (Amy and Blake pictured)
Amy’s parents Janis and Mitch set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation following her death.
They created the charity in honour of the late singer on what would have been her 28th birthday on the 14 September 2011.
Amy soared to fame upon the release of Frank in 2003, as she gained both critical and commercial success with the debut as her jazz-inspired vocals won fans all over before her second album Back To Black’s introduction three years later.
In a heartbreaking turn of fate, the London-born icon’s dazzling career was plighted by her demons after she fell into the clutches of drink and drug addiction.
‘I don’t feel the world knew the true Amy’: The singer’s parents Janis and Mitch set up the Amy Winehouse Foundation following her death as an addition to Amy’s legacy (pictured in 2008)
As she ascended higher on the fame ladder she discovered her demons – in drink, drugs and also eating disorders, which her brother Alex insists contributed to her death.
In 2011, an inquest gave a verdict of misadventure after finding that she had 416mg of alcohol per decilitre in her blood. A second inquest in 2013 confirmed that she died of accidental alcohol poisoning.
This is more than five times the legal drink-drive limit and enough to cause her to become comatose and depress her respiratory system.
Reclaiming Amy airs on BBC Two at 9pm on Friday 23rd July
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Heartbreaking: As she ascended higher on the fame ladder she discovered her demons – in drink, drugs and also eating disorders (pictured in 2007)