UPDATE: Paul McCartney posted a special message on his website, writing, “The news of Cynthia’s passing is very sad. She was a lovely lady who I’ve known since our early days together in Liverpool. She was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by us all, but I will always have great memories of our times together.”
Original Story: Almost 35 years after John Lennon’s untimely death, his first wife, Cynthia Lennon, has passed away at the age of 75.
“Cynthia Lennon passed away today at her home in Mallorca, Spain following a short but brave battle with cancer,” her son Julian Lennon posted on his website on Wednesday, April 1. “Her son Julian Lennon was at her bedside throughout. The family are thankful for your prayers. Please respect their privacy at this difficult time.”
Cynthia and the famed Beatles singer-songwriter married in 1962, and their only child, Julian, was born in April 1963. They met as students at the Liverpool College of Art, and had a troubled romance filled with Lennon’s admitted verbal and physical abuse, according to Cynthia’s 2005 memoir titled John.
Cynthia caught John cheating on her with Yoko Ono in 1968, and she filed for divorce shortly after, getting custody of her son in the process.
Lennon later married Ono in 1969 and they were together, aside from a year-long separation in 1973, until he was murdered in New York in 1980. Julian Lennon, who was the inspiration behind some of The Beatles’ biggest hits like “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” and “Hey Jude,” is a musician, whose 1984 album Valotte earned him a Grammy nomination.
