John Lennon birth anniversary: Singer’s controversial love story with Yoko Ono

John Lennon, born on 9 October 1940,  was an English singer, songwriter, and musician who gained fame as the founder of the worldwide famous band The Beatles. While the artist gained several accolades for his achievements in his musical career, his personal life was also a topic of discussion among music fans, especially his 14-year-long relationship with his second wife and occasional music collaborator Yoko Ono. 

 2 things you need to know 

• John Lennon and Yoko Ono first met in London in 1966. 
• At that time, Lennon was husband to Cynthia Lennon, while Ono was in her second marriage with producer Anthony Cox.

Controversial start of John Lennon-Yoko Ono’s relationship 

Lennon and Ono first ran into one another when the Beatles visited Ono's solo exhibition at the Indica Gallery in London. Later, the duo collaborated for Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins, over the course of a single weekend in 1968 spring at Lennon's house in England. 

(Censored version of the cover of Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono | Image: X)

According to an article in The Guardian, this was the same weekend Cynthia returned home to learn of Lennon's affair. Cynthia too confessed to this in her 1985 Fresh Air interview. She said, "I met her actually when I came home from a holiday. But I had seen her before; I mean I met her physically, you could say. She had been staying with John that night, and I came home and they were there, which was sort of curtains for our marriage, as far as all of us were concerned, really."

The experimental record (Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins), whose cover art famously showed the pair completely naked, was published soon after Lennon's divorce from Cynthia was finalised. Meanwhile, Ono parted ways with her husband Anthony Cox in February 1969 and married Lennon in March of the same year. 

Beatles disbandment and backlash 

The Beatles split up in 1970, a year after Lennon and Ono's wedding. The band's breakup was quickly blamed on Ono by the public, partly due to 'racism' and 'sexism'. In September of 1971, Lennon and Ono appeared on the Dick Cavett show. During their time chatting with the talk show host they discussed the end of the legendary band. And while Cavett was eager to bring up the suggestion that Ono had brought the band to an end, Lennon was keen to defend her. Though Lennon said that Ono wasn't the cause behind The Beatles' disbandment, public opinion of Ono remains divisive.

(The Beatles disbanded in 1970 | Image: File Photo)

In a 2012 interview with The Telegraph, Ono brought up the hostility thrown at her, saying, "I was very aware that we were ruining each other's careers and I was hated and John was hated because of me." Later, the pair relocated to New York from London.

John Lennon’s affair with May Pang 

The pair split up for an 18-month period between 1973 and 1975, which Lennon termed "The Lost Weekend." A lackluster response to Lennon's most recent work and the pervasive "hatred" directed at Ono as a result of the Beatles' breakup caused cracks in their marriage. 

(John Lennon dated May Pang from 1973 to 1975 | Image: File Photo)

The young aide of the couple, May Pang, and Lennon were reportedly in a relationship during this time. However, Ono admitted to having orchestrated the affair to The Telegraph, saying it was a good diversion from their intense romance and "not hurtful."

Rekindled romance

Lennon and Ono reunited in 1975 by renewing their wedding vows on their anniversary. After a string of miscarriages and issues with fertility, they revealed they were expecting a child in the same month. Sean Taro Ono Lennon was born on October 9, 1975, at 2:00 a.m. in New York City. Lennon's final studio album, Double Fantasy, was released by the duo in 1980.

John Lennon’s death 

According to reports, the musician and Ono were walking toward the archway entry of their New York apartment building on December 8, 1980, when the musician was shot and killed. Reportedly, a man named Mark David Chapman shot 40-year-old Lennon. He was later sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. 

(John Lennon was with Yoko Ono hours before he was shot dead in New York | Image: File Photo)

Lennon was cremated on December 12 as Ono sprinkled her husband's ashes over Central Park. In order to remember her late husband, Ono founded the John Lennon Museum in Japan and built Strawberry Fields in Central Park, New York. She didn't remarry after Lennon's passing.