Kylie Minogue posts birthday tribute to late ex-boyfriend Michael Hutchence on what would have been his 66th birthday

Kylie Minogue has posted a birthday tribute to her late ex-boyfriend Michael Hutchence on what would have been his 66th birthday. 

The pop superstar, 57, dated INXS rocker and Australian singer Michael in the early 1990s. 

Michael tragically took his own life at the age of 37 on November 22 1997, and would have turned 66 years old on Thursday.  

Taking to her Instagram, Kylie shared a sweet throwback snap of herself and Michael from when they were dating. 

The birthday tribute was captioned 'selfie mode' with white heart emojis as she reflected on his passing.  

In 2023, Kylie revealed she believes that Michael returned a ring to her from beyond the grave.

Kylie was horrified at the thought of someone taking the piece of jewellery he gifted her when it vanished from her house, but explained that it was one day returned to her by an 'anonymous' sender.

She told The Telegraph: 'I was given a ring by Michael Hutchence when we were dating. It went missing from my house, and I hated the idea that someone I knew had 'taken' it.

'A long time later and after his passing, it was posted back to me anonymously in an envelope. I think that he, in an otherworldly way, returned it to me.'   

It has long been believed Kylie was the inspiration behind Michael's hit song, Suicide Blonde. 

In 2020, the singer detailed how the INXS anthem, which raced to the top of the charts in 1990, came to be. 

Speaking to News Corp, Kylie revealed that it referred to her rebellious blonde character, Lola Lovell, in the 1989 film The Delinquents. 

'Suicide Blonde came from me talking about my character in The Delinquents, we met just after that,' Kylie says. 

'My hairdresser called the (colour of the) wig I had to wear "suicide blonde".' 

Michael and Kylie made their public debut as a couple at the film's premiere.

The Australian pop star went on to hint that other songs written at the time, for the 1990 album X, may have been inspired by her. 

The Locomotion hitmaker tells the publication: 'Anything he wrote at that time, well, I was around.'   

The title of the song raised eyebrows, not least for Michael's INXS bandmate Andrew Farriss. 

He told the paper of his own recollections: 'My concerns weren't so much about Kylie or their relationship, it was the word "suicide" in a song. He said, "Don't worry it's not about suicide".' 

Michael dated Kylie on and off between 1987 and 1990. 

In the documentary Mystify: Michael Hutchence, released in 2019, Kylie spoke about her relationship with the Never Tear Us Apart singer. 

She said the public perception that she was a 'pure, good girl dating this dark, bad boy' was accurate, but she always felt 'safe with him'.

'I felt protected. He had insatiable curiosity, all the good things in life and some of the bad,' she said. 'He opened up a whole new world for me. A lot of it was based around pleasure, let's face it.'

Kylie, who was just 19 when the pair first started dating, added that Michael had 'awakened [her] desires'. 

She said when their relationship finally ended she was left heartbroken, even though she had never expected they would be together forever.      

'It felt loving, yet sad and probably doomed. We talked through things and I couldn't give you an actual reason [as to why it happened],' she said of their break-up. 

'I left pretty confounded and destroyed, and I knew that was... that was it. Yeah, he broke my heart. I have to confess, the hurt stays for quite a long time.' 

Following his relationship with Kylie, the trouble rock star moved on with supermodel Helena Christensen in 1991. 

He then embarked on a tumultuous relationship with Paula Yates, with whom he welcomed his only child, daughter Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence Geldof, now 24.

Michael was with Paula until his death by suicide aged 37 in November 1997. 

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