Who is Jim Hutton? Freddie Mercury's lover played by Aaron McCusker in Bohemian Rhapsody

17 February 2022, 12:15 | Updated: 17 February 2022, 12:20

Aaron McCusker as Jim Hutton. Picture: 20th Century Fox

Jim Hutton was one of the most important people in Freddie Mercury's life, and was a major character in the movie Bohemian Rhapsody.

Jim McCusker played Jim Hutton in the film, but what happened to the real life Jim?

  1. Who is Jim Hutton and when did he meet Freddie Mercury?

    Jim Hutton's book 'Mercury and Me'. Picture: Jim Hutton/Dreamscape Media

    Jim was working as a hairdresser when he first met Freddie Mercury at a London gay club called Heaven in 1985, he once told The Times.

    The Queen frontman offered to buy him a drink, but Jim was already dating someone else and turned him down.

    18 months later, they crossed paths again in a different club, and this time they started a relationship that would last for the rest of Freddie's until his death at the age of 45 in 1991.

    However, the movie shows them meeting at one of Freddie's lavish parties, with Jim working as a waiter.

  2. How long were they together?

    The pair lived together for several years, starting soon after they began dating in the 1980s.

    While they were never married (as gay marriage was illegal at the time), they were essentially a married couple. They both wore a wedding ring to show how committed they were to each another, and Freddie referred to Jim as his husband, according to The Vintage News.

    When Freddie was diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, he reportedly told Jim he would understand if he wanted to part ways.

    "Don’t be stupid," Hutton said, according to The Daily Beast. "I’m not going anywhere. I’m here for the long haul."

    Jim stayed with Freddie, and helped care for him until the singer's death in 1991.

    Three years after Freddie's death, Jim published a book about his time with the singer titled Mercury and Me.

    He worked as Freddie's gardener after moving into the singer's Kensington mansion, and preferred to stay away from the rock and roll lifestyle.

  3. What happened to Jim Hutton?

    Sadly, Jim Hutton passed away in 2010 at the age of 60 on New Year's Day.

    While he, like Freddie, suffered from HIV, his death was actually caused by lung cancer.