Distraught Maisie Smith vows to spend Christmas Day with Max George after his heart op – despite 500-mile round trip
SINGER Max George had his pacemaker fitted yesterday, telling fans: “Say hello to my little friend.”
The Wanted star needed the device following a heart scare.
He shared a photo of his scar on social media with his introduction mimicking the line from Scarface.
Max, 36, also told how the surgeon agreed to implant it beneath his date-of-birth tattoo tribute to bandmate and pal Tom Parker, who died from brain cancer aged 33 in 2022.
He had the regulator fitted in a 2½-hour operation after a CT scan revealed a blockage was disrupting electrical signals in his heart.
He said: “Given the last ten days, this is the best Christmas present I could’ve ever wished for.”
Max said the procedure was more complicated than planned because some of his veins had collapsed.
He faces more tests on his lungs, but praised NHS staff treating him, adding: “I owe them everything.”
His girlfriend, ex-EastEnders’ star Maisie Smith, 23, vowed to make a 500-mile round trip to visit him on Christmas Day — her only day off in the next three weeks as she is in panto in Canterbury, Kent.
Maisie said: “We’re still talking everyday and FaceTiming. I’m still trying to be there as much as I can be.
“I’ve got Christmas day off, so I’ll be going to see him. We’re not 100 per cent sure where he’ll be spending Christmas at this point in time, but whatever happens we’ll be together.”
Maisie said Max was upbeat when she visited him in hospital on Wednesday.
She added: “He seems in happier spirits. It was lovely to see him because we’re quite far away from each other, so it was lovely to see him and his family.”
Max took to social media last week to announce he had been rushed into A&E after falling ill.
A CT scan found he had a 2:1 heart block – a condition which causes the heart’s electrical signals to be disrupted.
He told followers his heart rate has remained stubbornly low despite treatment.
Posting on Instagram, he admitted it is going to be a “difficult few weeks” and shared fears he might spend Christmas in hospital.
He praised “wonderful partner” Maisie – who he has been linked to since 2022 after growing close on the Strictly live tour – and his family and friends for their support.