Anguish for George Michael's family as police hunt for more visitors to star's home before his death and former lover reveals addiction to anti-depressants and COCA-COLA

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George Michael was addicted to anti-depressants and Coca Cola, a former lover has claimed, as police widen the search for those who saw him the day before the died.

Carlos Arturo Ortiz, 59, said that the pair shared a night of passion in Australia in 2013 after the singer contacted him on a gay website.

He claims that Michael answered the door wearing nothing but pyjama bottoms and they made love and drank pink Champagne together.

Carlos Arturo Ortiz, 59, said that the pair shared a night of passion in Australia in 2013 after the singer contacted him on a gay website

George Michael was addicted to anti-depressants and Coca Cola, a former lover has claimed, as police widen the search for those who saw him the day before the died

But Ortiz, a hairdresser from Colombia who lives in Australia, said it was clear that the star was unhappy and he was not surprised to hear of his death.

He claims that Michael told him that he was addicted to anti-depressants and drank Coca Cola by the gallon, rarely drinking anything else.

Ortiz also revealed that the Wham! star, who died on December 25, hated Christmas because there were 'no children running around'.

He told Patrick Hill for the Sunday People: 'George's death knocked me sideways, although it didn't surprise me. I found him a lovely down-to-earth man, but also a very melancholic person who I feared might one day take his own life.

Michael and Fadi Fawaz, his partner, who found him dead on Christmas Day 

'He told me he was addicted to anti-depressant medicine and trying to wean himself off it and confessed he was unhappy.'

He also explained how Michael, who had a well-documented battle with alcohol and drugs, disappeared for 20 minutes to 'meet a friend' during their encounter.

Michael then emptied the contents of a bottle into a glass of water and drank it, although they never talked about what was in it.

'They didn't alter his mood particularly. All he drank apart from the Champagne was Coca-Cola which he told me he downed by the gallon and was addicted to along with chocolate,' he added.

His revelations come as police widen the net in their investigation after a post-mortem to ascertain the cause of his death proved inconclusive.

They are now reviewing CCTV footage from outside his home, checking the number plates of passing cars and trying to speak to the owners.

The development comes as it was revealed that, despite rumours he had become a loner during his final months, a procession of cars visited him the day before his death. 

George Michael's home in Highgate, north London, has been flooded with flowers

A police source told Janine Yaqoob for the Sunday People: 'Officers are stepping up the ­investigation into the days leading up to George's death and focusing on those who came and went to see George.

'They may have vital information which could be of use. There are still vehicles that were near the property which the police are trying to trace the owners of.'

A former lover revealed that the star (pictured performing in 2012) was addicted to anti-depressants in 2013

The singer was found dead in his bed at his home in Goring, Oxfordshire, on December 25 by his boyfriend Fadi Fawaz.

Since then it has emerged that the couple had split a number of times in the months leading up to the star's death, but had always found themselves back in touch.

Fawaz is said to have slept in his car the night before finding Michael dead after suffering heart failure according to a police report.

But after the first post-mortem results were 'inconclusive' and further tests were ordered, the mystery surrounding his last moments has deepened.

On January 2, Mr Fawaz denied sending tweets saying the star was suicidal, claiming his Twitter account had been hacked.

Mr Fawaz and his father joined Michael on a secret trip to a hospital in Vienna last November to see two top doctors - a month before he died.

The pop star jetted in to the Austrian capital in a private jet to see doctors at AKH General Hospital, where his life was saved when he had pneumonia in 2011. 

The revelation that Michael shared a night of passion with Ortiz in 2013 comes after claims that Michael and Fawaz had broken up numerous times but always got back together

At the time Mr Fawaz had said they made the trip to sell an item in November last year.

Last week it was revealed Michael may have spent £2million during a year staying at a luxurious rehab clinic that helps the rich and famous kick drugs and alcohol.

The star had long periods of treatment at the Kusnacht Practice, near Zurich, which calls itself 'the world's most exclusive treatment centre'.

Guests pay £70,000 a week for care including electric shock therapy - and Mr Michael will have known one of its most senior clinicians is a renowned therapist who helps gay men and women overcome depression or addiction.

Michael received at least 10 visitors in the days before he died proving he was not a loner.