George Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 and the nation was left utterly heartbroken.
Despite the unexpected news of his death, the coroner later confirmed the 53-year-old died of natural causes, as a result of heart and liver disease.
But nearly three years on, Michael’s Wham! bandmate has said he still experiences intense grief for his friend and feels there has been no real closure.
Ridgeley, 56, has released a new autobiography called George & Me, and in it he talks about the aftermath of Michael’s death and his suspicions following the news.
In excerpts from the book obtained by The Mirror, Andrew explained: “That the circumstances of his death seemed unclear only compounded the distress.
“Without any real closure, the grieving seemed terribly raw.
“A heart condition was recorded as the cause of death,” the singer went on. “But there were still a number of questions.
“He seemed to be in good health and there are conflicting reports surrounding the night [before] his passing.”
Ridgeley then guessed the world will never truly know the truth surrounding his friend’s death.
“It now seems as if we may never know what really happened,” the star added.
READ MORE: Who is Andrew Ridgeley? Wham! star age and George Michael
Ridgeley continued to share his frustration with not having answers.
“When someone dies alone, perhaps there are always answers that remain out of reach,” he said. “It still feels uncomfortable, though.”
Another excerpt from the book saw the singer sharing his fears Michael would die of AIDs after he came out as gay to him and Shirlie Holliman.
Paranoia over the disease was everywhere at the time, and Ridgeley said he knew he wasn’t the “only friend” worrying about Michael during the “uncertain, frightening period”.
“When I walked across the hallway to George’s room, Shirlie was already there, perched on a large sofa in the suite,” Ridgeley then recalled in extracts obtained from The Sun.
“George was still in bed. He smiled as I came in.
“The mood in the room was so relaxed and familiar, yet what George was about to reveal was clearly a big deal for him.
“‘I didn’t know whether to tell you this’, he said, looking across at Shirlie. ‘But I’m going to. I’m gay’,” the singer added.
Andrew Ridgely appears on tonight’s Graham Norton show at 10.35pm.
