George Michael told BBC that some of his family members still believe that he could “find the right girl”, despite living an openly gay life with his partner for the past 13 years.

The Careless Whisper singer came out in 1998 after an incident in which he solicited sex with an undercover male police officer. He admitted that revealing his sexuality was not a relief, but made life harder.

He told BBC,  “For some strange reason, my gay life didn’t get easier when I came out. Quite the opposite happened, really. The press seemed to take some delight that I previously had a ‘straight audience,’ and set about trying to destroy that.

“And I think some men were frustrated that their girlfriends wouldn’t let go of the idea that George Michael just hadn’t found the ‘right girl’ yet. Which is what a lot of my extended family still think!”

Despite engaging in several same-sex relationships throughout his time in Wham!, Michael said that he was never public with his sexuality because he did not want to worry his mother.

“It’s about family,” he said. “In the years when HIV was a killer, any parent of an openly gay person was terrified.

“I knew my mother well enough that she would spend every day praying that I didn’t come across that virus. She’d have worried like that.”

George Michael’s new album Symphonica was released this week. It is the singer’s first studio album in ten years.