Lynette Gillard, a 38-year-old fitness instructor, had her fifteen minutes of fame when she appeared on an episode of Deal or No Deal in 2008, and it paid off in the best way she could ever imagine.
At the time, Lynette spent years struggling to conceive and coughed up around $60,000 on nine rounds of IVF, all of which failed. When she and her partner started to run low on cash, Lynette decided to go on the show to win some money for another round of IVF. She took home about $4,000, but unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly enough to cover the cost of the treatment.
That’s when the late singer George Michael stepped in.
The Wham! star got in touch with the show’s producers and donated the money Lynette needed (about $12,000), but he asked the show runners to keep his identity a secret.
«I have had so many failed rounds of IVF. It is an emotional roller coaster, getting your hopes up each time. When it didn’t work I was getting so upset and I knew something was wrong,» Lynette told The Sun.
«I was told I needed special blood tests to check my immune system to find out why it kept failing but I never would have been able to afford them without George,» she continued. «Now thanks to him I have these tests and next time the doctors are going to put me on steroids when the embryo is implanted. He’s given us hope.
Almost a year after the ‘Careless Whisper’ singer died on December 25, 2016, Lynette and her partner, Nathan, are proud parents of a baby boy.
«I was lost for words when we heard there’d been a donation eight years ago and I am still lost for words now,» Lynette explained. «It is so strange, I’ve always enjoyed his music and we spent all evening dancing to George’s music after the tragic news broke about his death on Christmas day.»
That was the same day that Lynette found out she was pregnant, and it wasn’t too long after that she found out that the anonymous donation was from George Michael.
«Every time I see his picture on TV I wonder if he ever thought about us and if he wondered whether I had a baby yet.»
Seth George Hart was born in early September and his parents have given him the middle name «George» in honor of the late singer.
«The first time I held my little boy I said thank you to George. His hit Jesus to a Child was playing and it felt surreal,» Lynette, who played George Michael’s music during labor, told Daily Mail. «I hope he’s looking down smiling, knowing I have what I’ve always longed for.’
«He believed in me and gave me hope to keep trying even when I felt it was useless,» she added.
Labor wasn’t the only time George has been with Lynette in spirit. The new mom said that the entertainer’s music was coincidentally playing on the radio during her first scan.
«I feel that George has been with me every step of the way.»
«I’m sure when he grows up Seth will look up to George as an inspiration,» the ecstatic mom added.
This isn’t the first time that George Michael anonymously helped people in need. People began to share stories of his benevolence after his sudden death, and there’s no denying that he was a wonderful man.
