Now back on the Gold Coast after sharing a $349,000 series windfall with building partner Voni Cosier, the mum-of-three is also adamant that his death was a sexual misadventure, rather than suicide, as the coroner ruled.
“It was definitely not suicide, Michael would never do that,” says Suzi.
“Especially with Tiger-Lily, he would have never left this planet deliberately. He wasn’t ready to go, he was embarking on a new tour.
“It was completely an accident. Obviously when alcohol and drugs are involved sometimes these accidents can happen, it’s just very sad but it happens all over the world.”
Suzi says she agrees with Michael’s late partner Paula Yates that the singer died from autoerotic asphyxiation.
Michael, who would have turned 55 this year, was found in 1997 with a belt around his neck tied to the door of his hotel room.
“I knew he did that,” says Suzi, of the extreme sexual practice. “I won’t go into detail but it definitely wasn’t a surprise how they found him.”
Suzi says Michael tracked her down after seeing her Penthouse Pet of the Year photo spread in 1991.
“I had a phone call saying someone from a band wanted my number and to maybe meet up,” she says.
“Before that I’d gone to an event where he was and we made eye contact, I think him getting my number stemmed from that party.
“He’d seen me in Penthouse. He told me that he went to a studio in Sydney and my magazine was on one of the coffee tables so he’d checked me out.
“It wasn’t a one night thing, we stayed in touch for a while. I’d meet him on the Gold Coast or in Sydney.
“Whenever I heard from him I’d get a big smile on my face, that’s for sure.”
She says they stayed close for years and she recently recorded a cover of INXS’ Beautiful Girl with her band Juce in his honour.
“Michael was very generous, very loving, very supportive and heaps of fun to be around. Just a beautiful, beautiful soul.
“I found him very shy, but such a lovely, lovely guy. He was very self-conscious, he’d always wear his hair around his face, but he’d come out of his shell when he went on stage.
“You were his whole world when you were with him, which was very refreshing. He was someone who never looked at anyone else when you were with him. I loved that.
“He oozed charisma. He was the quintessential rock star. The way he moved, the way he looked, it just oozed from him. It was a wonderful experience to be in his company.”
