This is getting more interesting.

For all that the artist known professionally as "George Michael" had a very public career and a great deal of fame, he seems to have had a firm grasp of keeping many private things private.

The people who knew him on a daily basis, who worked for him, lived near him, and frequently saw him around, seem to be coming out of the woodwork to eulogize him and to say how much they will miss him. It occurs to me that it takes more than "making nice" to put down, and maintain, so solid a foundation of friends and well-wishers. For example, he must have known how to keep a confidence and how to earn, and keep, a person's trust.

In the quotes from his remarks to the press over the years, I noted with interest how carefully he spoke of his family of origin; he valued the support of his own flesh and blood, even when the sexuality issue made for differences of opinion. He talked about how he stayed "in the closet" as long as he did partly out of respect for those differences. He spoke of all the female fans who wanted to marry him, and he spoke of his relatives who hoped against hope that he WOULD marry a female fan! He said this bluntly but with evident affection.

Somewhere apart from the conflict and complexity of going against conventional expectations, there must have been solid bedrock of unconditional love and support in his life, for him to lean against when he needed stability from outside himself.