The Wanted star Max George has recounted preparing for his own death from his hospital bed, convinced he would die before receiving lifesaving surgery to have a pacemaker fitted.
Speaking to The Sun in his first interview since the operation before Christmas, the 36-year-old shared the terror he felt after doctors discovered an irregularity with his heart.
He said: “If I could go from being absolutely on top of the world to being told ‘the bottom part of your heart isn’t working’, I kept thinking in my head, ‘Well, what if the top half stops working overnight?’”
To add to his fears, he said he was by far the youngest patient on his ward, surrounded by patients at least three decades older.
He said he thought of his girlfriend, English actress Maisie Smith, 23, and his family and what would happen if the worst occurred.
“That first night I wrote a will, I thought I was going to die,” the 36-year-old musician said.
“When you get told that, you really realise what your responsibilities are. I’ve got a partner, Maisie, I’ve got a family. I’ve got two little nephews and all of that stuff really comes to the front of it all.”
He said he took out his iPhone and wrote out his will, detailing what to do with his assets in case he did not make it.
The former Strictly Come Dancing star told The Sun that December 13 was the day he thought would be his last, as his heart rate and blood pressure dropped simultaneously.
Max is in a relationship with former EastEnders actress and Strictly co-star Maisie Smith
(Image: Getty)
“It was quite close that night, it really felt like my neck was closing up and that’s when the sort of panic really kicked in. I felt like I was dying. It was the worst, I felt emotional,” he said,
He recalled that he was “absolutely buzzing” when his surgery date was locked in for December 18.
The singer shared updates with his fans on social media throughout the entire process and detailed how he had a pacemaker fitted in surgery that took two-and-a-half hours.
While the procedure was complicated by collapsed veins caused by his condition, he was able to return home right before the holiday season.
He described his pacemaker as “the best Christmas present”.
He wrote in a post after returning home: “Say hello to my little friend!
“Given the last 10 days, this is the best Christmas present I could’ve ever wished for.
“Pacemaker is in. Operation took around two and a half hours. The main issue being some of my veins had collapsed where the wires were meant to go… But the surgeons and nurses at the NHS have been incredible. I owe everything to them.
“The surgeon kindly put my pacemaker just underneath a very special tattoo of mine. So I’m sure it’s being looked after.
“Few more tests to do due to inflamed lymph nodes on my lungs, but that’ll be easy work!
“Time to rest and then tackle life full on once again.
“Thank you for all your support. It’s meant a hell of a lot to myself and my family.”
In an earlier health update on December 16, George said he had “a 2:1 block in my heart” and would be undergoing heart surgery “way quicker than the doctors first thought”.
He previously said in a video to his Instagram stories that he was “hoping (for a) pacemaker”.
The implanted devices, which regulate heart rhythm, have saved countless lives by generating an electric current.
Tom Parker, who also rose to fame in the 2010s with the boy band The Wanted along with George, died at the age of 33 after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour.
George has also appeared in US musical series Glee and competed on Strictly Come Dancing, where he got to know his future girlfriend – former EastEnders star Maisie Smith – in 2020.
Smith, 23, and George have previously said that romantic sparks only began to fly in 2022.
(Image: PA Media)