George Michael’s grief over the death of his lover and close family members may have driven him to his death, a documentary will claim.
Medics said ‘complicated grief disorder’ following a series of personal tragedies could be to blame for the singer’s heavy use of drugs and antidepressants as well as having its own physical effects.
The star’s uncle and grandfather both commited suicide while his beloved mother Lesley Angold died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 60.
His lover, Brazilian fashion designer Anselmo Feleppa, died from an Aids-related illness in 1993 after George had nursed him in secret for four years.
The programme Autopsy: The Last Hours of George Michael will be broadcast in the U.S. tonight before it airs in Britain later this year, the Sunday Express reports.
The star’s uncle and grandfather both commited suicide while his beloved mother Lesley Angold (right) died of cancer in 1997 at the age of 60
The singer admitted that he had a ‘self-destructive tendency’, saying: ‘Since my mum died that’s made itself clear in other ways… there has to be some element in why I was not taking care of myself.’
Complicated grief disorder can lead to destructive thoughts and substance abuse, doctors said, suggesting George Michael may not have been able to ‘move on’.
Dr Linda Papadopoulos, a psychologist, suggested Michael may have ‘never recovered’ from lingering grief but hidden it with reckless drug use.
The programme claims his drug use ‘escalated’ despite the efforts of former lover Kenny Goss to stop him by flushing drugs down the toilet.
His former lover, Brazilian fashion designer Anselmo Feleppa, died from an Aids-related illness in 1993 after George had nursed him in secret for four years
‘I would find drugs and flush everything down the toilet, thinking ‘If I just get rid of it he won’t get more’,’ Goss said last year.
The Wham! superstar, who died on Christmas Day in 2016, was found to have died from heart and liver problems.
Dr Michael Hunter told the programme: ‘Loneliness triggers greater levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body and this can greatly increase the risk of heart disease.’
Friend Andros Georgiou told the BBC shortly after the hitmaker’s death that ‘hard drugs had been back in his life’, adding crack cocaine was one of his favourites.