The Wanted’s Max George Reveals He Underwent 2nd Heart Surgery
The Wanted’s Max George has revealed that he recently underwent a second heart surgery after having a pacemaker fitted in December 2024. “It’s been a setback, but it’s just one of those things,” George, 36, wrote via his Instagram account on Monday, February 17. George previously confirmed that he’d spent Christmas in the hospital after […]
The Wanted’s Max George has revealed that he recently underwent a second heart surgery after having a pacemaker fitted in December 2024.
“It’s been a setback, but it’s just one of those things,” George, 36, wrote via his Instagram account on Monday, February 17.
George previously confirmed that he’d spent Christmas in the hospital after his doctors discovered “some issues with [his] heart.” While a pacemaker was put in at that time, George has since endured unexpected side effects from the procedure.
“A few weeks ago I had to go back into hospital after having some physical symptoms in my chest. It turned out that one of the leads was placed too far into my heart,” he wrote. “The second surgery took about 2 hours. Luckily, it was a success and they kindly let me listen to Oasis the whole time!”
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The former boyband star assured his concerned fans that, although his latest procedure was a “setback,” he is now on the road to recovery.
“I’ve had a few complications the last couple of months but I’m having loads of tests to make sure everything is all good,” George explained. “It can take a few weeks / months for the inflammation of my heart to subside (myocarditis) but I’m sure I’ll be back on top form in no time!”
He concluded: “Thanks everyone for all your lovely messages and support through what’s been a pretty rough time. Means a lot.”
Speaking to The Sun on Monday, George shed more light on what led up to doctors deciding he’d need to go under the knife once again.
“I was trying to get back to good health but was still having a flickering sensation for weeks after I had my pacemaker fitted and it was gradually getting worse and worse,” he clarified. “When my heart rate went up, it was causing a shock in my heart which was making me jump all the time. My chest was shaking.”
Last month, George shared the serious nature of his heart condition, revealing he’d previously woken up with freezing blue hands and his throat nearly “closing up.” The musician was staying with his mother when his health started rapidly deteriorating.
“I couldn’t move my arms and the worst feeling was I felt like my throat was closing up. It felt like someone had their hands around my neck,” he remembered. “Thank God I stayed at Mum’s house — she saved my life.”
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The “All Time Low” singer said he feared “[he] was going to die” and even “wrote a will” before his doctors were finally able to perform a pacemaker procedure.
Recalling his euphoric feeling after emerging from surgery, George said: “I was like, ‘Holy s—, I feel alive again,’ like it was a really nice feeling. It’d been so hard being away from [girlfriend Maisie Smith], but she climbed on the bed, obviously she lay on the other side of my chest to my op, and put her head on me. We just had a cuddle for a couple of hours while I talked about football and we treated it like normal. I could feel butterflies again next to her.”
George and Smith have been dating since 2022. Smith, 23, was a child actress on the long-running BBC soap EastEnders and finished as runner-up on Strictly Come Dancing — the U.K.’s version of Dancing With the Stars — in 2022.
Prior to his current relationship, George was involved with future Fool Me Once star Michelle Keegan in 2010. He later dated Lindsay Lohan in 2012 and swimsuit model Nina Agdal in 2013.
His former band, The Wanted, scored 10 U.K. Top 10 hits before they split in 2014. The Wanted reunited in 2021 following bandmate Tom Parker‘s diagnosis with an inoperable brain tumour. Parker died in March 2022 at age 33.
