Kenny Goss had ‘open relationship’ with George Michael

The late George Michael and Kenny Goss had an "open relationship".

The former Wham! star and his art dealer ex-partner – who dated from 1996 to 2011 – had an agreement that they could sleep with other people but Kenny insists that wasn’t unusual for gay couples, though he admits he wasn’t "as open" as the ‘Careless Whisper’ singer.

He told The Sun newspaper: "It was an open relationship. That is quite usual with gay couples. It was on both sides.

"But I don’t think I was as open as George."

George – who was found dead at home in December 2016 aged 53 – was famously found cavorting on Hampstead Heath in London with a van driver in 3006, but Kenny wasn’t upset by it and his partner’s only concern wasn’t getting caught, but that he was with a man less attractive than he was.

He said: "People often ask me about that incident but it was just our life. The only thing George was worried about was that the bloke hadn’t been better looking."

But while the pair were happy to take other lovers, Kenny didn’t always like George’s insistence on furnishing him with the details of his rendezvous with other men and sometimes worried the ‘Outside’ singer was taking unnecessary risks.

He explained: "George was honest with me, sometimes too honest. I would be like, ‘Enough, I know enough’.

"He would say, ‘I am going out to Hampstead Heath’. It was an open relationship but sometimes I really didn’t understand the issues with danger.

"I worried about him as the relationship went on and we were together longer. You worry about the people that you love and I loved George."

And Kenny believes the death of George’s mother Lesley in 1997 was the catalyst that made him become more careless with his lifestyle.

He said: "His mother kept him in check in a lot of ways. There were things he didn’t want his mother to see, certain things, lifestyle things.

"When she wasn’t there he did what he wanted, he didn’t care anymore. His drug use escalated after she passed away too.

"I don’t think she would have approved of some things.

"She was so proud of him — he always wanted to make her proud."