George Michael's 'cursed' family now after double Christmas Day tragedy
Christmas can be a difficult time for troubled families but the special day is marred by tragedy for the loved ones of George Michael.
The pop sensation tragically died on December 25, 2016, sending shockwaves across the world. The much-loved Wham! star suddenly passed away at the age of just 53.
And just three years later, on the same day, his family was rocked again by another devastating loss, the death of his sister Melanie Panayiotou. George's dad, Kyriacos 'Jack' Panayiotou, and sister Yioda Panayiotou have mourned the loss of three of the most important people in their lives - with the siblings' untimely deaths following the passing of mum Lesley Angold Panayiotou.
A close friend from George's childhood believes that such a cycle of tragedy must be down to a 'curse'. The heartbreak began in 1993 when George's first love, Brazilian boyfriend Anselmo Feleppa, died at the age of just 33.
George Micheal pictured with sister Melanie Panayiotou, mum Lesley Angold Panayiotou and dad Kyriacos 'Jack' PanayiotouThe dress designer lost his life just a year into his relationship with George due to an "AIDS-related illness". Long-time friend Andros Georgiou believes the singer would still be alive if Anelsmo had not died.
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"George was the love of his life and if he hadn’t died I think George would still be here," he told The Mirror in 2020. "After Anselmo, he didn't find real love, he had a lot of sex and met lots of people but he never found what he had with Anselmo. I saw how happy they were. I think he was quite lost after Anselmo died, it hit him hard."
Then in 1997, George was devastated when mum Lesley died from cancer aged 60. Her death plunged the late singer into a deep depression as he struggled to work through his overwhelming grief.
"In terms of coming close to saying I don’t want to live, that would have been after my Mum died," he once told The Guardian. "I had this overwhelming feeling that the best was behind me. I so loved my mum, and respected her."
On Christmas Day 2016 came the awful news that George had died at the age of just 53. During the morning, his partner Fadi Fawaz had come to wake George up at their home in Goring-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, but found his lifeless body in bed.
In a statement, Fadi said: "We were supposed to be going for Christmas lunch. I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone, lying peacefully in bed. We don’t know what happened yet. Everything had been very complicated recently, but George was looking forward to Christmas, and so was I."
Fadi Fawaz found George dead in his bed (Internet Unknown)He later 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" An initial postmortem came back as inconclusive and George's friends and family spent weeks without answers or closure.
The coroner later found the star, who fought for years to overcome his addictions, had died from heart disease and a fatty liver. George's former partner Kenny Goss said that he believed the pop star's body simply 'gave up'.
According to a statement released by Fadi on Instagram in 2018, the pair had fought the day before and slept in separate beds. When George failed to come down from his room on Christmas Day, Fadi said he presumed he was still avoiding him.
Then he noticed that the position of George's door hadn't changed and made the gut-wrenching discovery inside. "I decided to go and see if he was in... I could see that his right hand was up to his face, with his fist clenched, with his fingers curled against his cheek," he wrote.
"His face looked normal. I saw that his legs were together but looked tense under the covers. "I touched him, but he was cold. I was shaking him and saying, 'George, George' but he was dead." George was laid to rest at Highgate Cemetery beside his beloved mum Lesley, leaving behind his father and sisters Melanie and Yioda.
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George and his sister Melanie both tragically died on Christmas Day (PIP-Landmark Media)
George Michael lost his first live, Anselmo Feleppa, who died in 1993 (Louie DeFilippis)Exactly three years to the day of George's tragic passing, tragedy struck once again. Melanie was found dead at her home in Hampstead, north London, which had once belonged to George.
A mystery hung over the coincidental circumstances for months, with one family friend claiming Melanie had 'died of a broken heart' after never getting over losing George. A source told The Sun: "She had been living as a recluse and only really went out to the hairdressers and post office and occasionally with her older sister Yioda. She stayed indoors, had shopping delivered and rarely left the house."
A postmortem revealed the 55-year-old died as a result of diabetic ketoacidosis caused by lack of insulin and high blood sugar. As well as being diabetic, Melanie was extremely close to Michael and joined him on tour with Wham! , was also found to be suffering from hypertensive heart disease, obesity and bronchopneumonia.
Before she died, Melanie took it upon herself to send annual letters to George's fans thanking them for their continued support of his legacy and now Yioda has taken up the tradition. A close friend from George's childhood believes the family are 'cursed'.
Melanie sent letters to George's fans after he died (Instagram)In 2020, he told The Mirror: "George was cursed. He lost the love of his life, Anselmo. Then his mum died. That was his thing, he always used to say, ‘What have I done?’"
Referring to Melanie's death, he continued: "It’s impossible, how could this happen? To die the same day as your brother, who had died three years before. I think the family is cursed. I can't get my head around it." Melanie is believed to have been buried with her mum and brother in their unmarked tomb in Highgate.
Meanwhile, it is believed George left behind a £97.6m fortune to his dad and family. Dad Jack, a Greek Cypriot restaurateur who emigrated from Cyprus to England in the 1950s, is believed to still be alive and was handed the star's horse stud farm in Hertfordshire 'for so long as he wishes'. George's sister Yioda was reportedly handed £6m after his death yet little is known about her whereabouts now.
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