George Michael was so addicted to Diet Coke he knocked back at least 25 cans of the stuff a day, a pal has said.
At the time of his death at the age of just 53 in 2016, the Faith singer was battling a range of addictions, including marijuana and anti-depressants.
But his music producer pal Johnny Douglas has revealed one of the former Wham! star’s habits was downing fizzy pop.
Speaking to the Daily Star, he said: “He smoked weed in the studio, as the majority of people do. He was also on anti-depressants – but he was the ultimate professional.
“He was never drugged out and I never saw him do anything that I would consider destructive, apart from his addiction to Diet Coke.”
Get all the biggest showbiz news straight to your inbox. Sign up for the free Mirror Showbiz newsletter.
Johnny said George was on “at least 25 cans a day” and drank it so often the cans were practically “welded to his hand.”
“You could look in his Range Rover and it was like a graveyard of empty Diet Coke cans,” he added.
Despite George’s huge success, first in Wham! with co-star Andrew Ridgeley in the Eighties and then as a solo artist, the singer wasn’t happy towards the end of his life.
Previously in good shape, his weight ballooned to around 16 stone and he became increasingly reclusive.
He died alone at his home in Goring-on-Thames in Oxfordshire on Christmas Day 2016 after suffering heart failure.
Prior to his death, the star’s battle with additions – particularly drugs – had been well documented.
In 2010 he famously crashed his Range Rover into a branch of Snappy Snaps near his home in Hampstead while under the influence, which landed him in jail for eight weeks.
The tragic story of his downward spiral is set to be explored in the upcoming biography George Michael: A Life authored by writer James Gavin.
According to the Daily Mail , the author concluded in the book that George died a ”pathetic, lonely and broken figure” and had turned to drugs to numb his feelings.
The outlet stated the singer ended his days as a recluse who binged on junk food and male prostitutes and took 'industrial quantities' of GHB as well as smoking crystal meth and crack cocaine.
George also experienced his share of heartache throughout his life.
After years of keeping his sexuality a secret, he publicly revealed he was gay after being arrested over a “lewd act” in a Los Angeles public toilet in 1998.
He was later caught engaging in public sex on North London’s Hampstead Heath in 2008.
Although he liked to engage in casual relationships – and reportedly had over 500 lovers – he was in a long term relationship with Kenny Goss for 14 years, which ended in 2010.
Prior to this he was in a relationship with Brazilian Anselmo Feleppa, who died of an AIDS-related illness in 1993.
Not out at the time, George reportedly didn't travel to be with his dying partner because he was afraid of the potential publicity – something which is said to have haunted him to his own dying day.
Just four years later, George's beloved mother Lesley Angold died in 1997, shortly after being diagnosed with cancer. He reportedly never recovered from her passing.
At the time of his death he is believed to have been dating Fadi Fawaz, who later said of George : "He wanted to die so badly... I think life stopped for him a long time ago."
Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@trinitymirror.com or call us direct 0207 29 33033.
