George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in London in 1984.Photo:Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty
Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty
Andrew Ridgeleysaw firsthand how former bandmateGeorge Michaelpersonally struggled after coming out.“George’s journey and mine were inseparable,” the 60-year-oldWham!star tells PEOPLE. “Shirlie was my girlfriend, we met right before my 18th birthday, and George, Shirlie and I did everything together for two or three years. He had a really close, firm, loyal friend in Shirlie with whom he could be himself and confide.”Ridgeley says that when his bandmate came out to him in a hotel room in Ibiza, it was “unremarkable” news. “Shirlie told me George was anxious about telling me, which I found a little surprising,” the English musician says about former girlfriend and singerShirlie Kemp. “When he told me it was like, ‘Oh, well, yeah. That explains a few things,’ but it was unremarkable. It was unsensational.”George Michael with Pepsi and ShirlieWhen it came to telling the rest of the world, which Michael eventually did onlive television in 1998, Ridgeley was more fearful.“George was thinking ‘Yeah, I’ll just come out and say it,’ and I thought, ‘Well, how’s this gonna change anything for us? The music’s still great and once the initial sort of hullabaloo is over, then it’ll probably be just that,” Ridgeley says about Michael’s delayed coming-out announcement.He continues, “But that was not the case, and George says that for him personally, that was the wrong decision. It was a decision to wait because we were fearful of how his father would react, along with the press and the label. He was all ifs and buts, but the fact is the decision was taken not to make his sexuality public, andthat personally cost him.“Watching Michael grapple with his sexuality was difficult for Ridgeley.“You know,you were an ally before we even had the term. He originally came out as bisexual to you and then later, of course, acknowledged that he was, in fact gay,” the “Last Christmas” singer tells PEOPLE. “You were that allyship. You were fully baked in from the beginning, and you watched him struggle with all of that.”Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael performing in 1985.Michael Putland/GettyAccording to Ridgeley, the direct effects Michael’s coming-out announcement had on his life were not resolved beforehis death in 2016. “I think it is fairly unarguable. He made the point that it had a personal cost, which I don’t think he ever quite reconciled.”A new Netflix documentary on the duo,WHAM!, was released Wednesday and is available to stream now. For more from Andrew Ridgeley, pick up the latest issue on PEOPLE, on newsstand everywhere Friday.
Andrew Ridgeleysaw firsthand how former bandmateGeorge Michaelpersonally struggled after coming out.
“George’s journey and mine were inseparable,” the 60-year-oldWham!star tells PEOPLE. “Shirlie was my girlfriend, we met right before my 18th birthday, and George, Shirlie and I did everything together for two or three years. He had a really close, firm, loyal friend in Shirlie with whom he could be himself and confide.”
Ridgeley says that when his bandmate came out to him in a hotel room in Ibiza, it was “unremarkable” news. “Shirlie told me George was anxious about telling me, which I found a little surprising,” the English musician says about former girlfriend and singerShirlie Kemp. “When he told me it was like, ‘Oh, well, yeah. That explains a few things,’ but it was unremarkable. It was unsensational.”
George Michael with Pepsi and Shirlie
When it came to telling the rest of the world, which Michael eventually did onlive television in 1998, Ridgeley was more fearful.
“George was thinking ‘Yeah, I’ll just come out and say it,’ and I thought, ‘Well, how’s this gonna change anything for us? The music’s still great and once the initial sort of hullabaloo is over, then it’ll probably be just that,” Ridgeley says about Michael’s delayed coming-out announcement.
He continues, “But that was not the case, and George says that for him personally, that was the wrong decision. It was a decision to wait because we were fearful of how his father would react, along with the press and the label. He was all ifs and buts, but the fact is the decision was taken not to make his sexuality public, andthat personally cost him.”
Watching Michael grapple with his sexuality was difficult for Ridgeley.
“You know,you were an ally before we even had the term. He originally came out as bisexual to you and then later, of course, acknowledged that he was, in fact gay,” the “Last Christmas” singer tells PEOPLE. “You were that allyship. You were fully baked in from the beginning, and you watched him struggle with all of that.”
Andrew Ridgeley and George Michael performing in 1985.Michael Putland/Getty
Michael Putland/Getty
According to Ridgeley, the direct effects Michael’s coming-out announcement had on his life were not resolved beforehis death in 2016. “I think it is fairly unarguable. He made the point that it had a personal cost, which I don’t think he ever quite reconciled.”
A new Netflix documentary on the duo,WHAM!, was released Wednesday and is available to stream now. For more from Andrew Ridgeley, pick up the latest issue on PEOPLE, on newsstand everywhere Friday.
source: people.com
