Weight gain pinched Mr Perfectionist

London: The pop icon, who was adored by millions of fans, had become increasingly reclusive in the last five years because he had gained weight.

George Michael was last seen on Christmas Eve, according to the Daily Mail. The Last Christmas star almost saw no one except his childhood best friend and he would periodically see his sisters. He hated to be seen as anything other than the slender, perfectly coiffed pop star he was in his youth, the Daily Mail said.

On Christmas Eve, Michael didn’t go to midnight mass at the local church although he had been in previous years. His boyfriend, Australian celebrity hair stylist Fadi Fawaz, had been seen in the village earlier that day. One of his few regular visitors was his childhood best friend, the singer and songwriter David Austin. He would also periodically see his sisters, Melanie and Yioda. Only those closest to him were permitted to penetrate his private screen.

On Christmas Day, George was found dead in bed in his spectacular riverside home. Fawaz revealed details about the singer’s death on Twitter. Fawaz was with Michael at the time of his death. On Monday, Fawaz tweeted, “It’s a Xmas I will never forget finding your partner dead peacefully in bed first thing in the morning... I will never stop missing you xx.”

Michael was hiding away from the world partly because he hated to be seen as anything other than the slender, perfectly coiffed pop star he was in his youth.

The Faith singer was a total perfectionist, but he had totally lost confidence, a source close to his management told the Daily Mail. Even photos released for his last album Symphonica in 2014 were old. Aged 53, he could be “horribly self-conscious” about how he looked and about his weight gain. He also fretted about the very visible scars on his head and neck, caused when he fell out of a car on the M1 in 2013 in what may have been a suicide bid while high on drugs.