Skip to main content

The Beatles’ John Lennon and Yoko Ono are one of history’s best-known couples — collaborating on music and advocating for peace. Cynthia Lennon recalled the moment she found the two together, saying at the intimacy between them was “so powerful.” Here’s what we learned from the memoir John.

John Lennon divorced Cynthia Lennon and got married to Yoko Ono

John Lennon, a former "Beatle" with wife, Yoko Ono, during a press conference
Artist John Lennon, a former “Beatle” with wife, Yoko Ono, during a press conference | Bettmann / Contributor via Getty Images

John and Cynthia Lennon were married as the Beatles rose in stardom. That changed once John Lennon met artist and activist Yoko Ono — the two began their whirlwind romance shortly after. 

“Although I’d had numerous interesting ‘affairs’ in my previous incarnation, I’d never met anyone worth breaking up a happily-married state of boredom for,” Lennon noted in Skywriting by Word of Mouth.

“Since I was extraordinarily shy (especially around beautiful women), my daydreams necessitated that she be aggressive enough to ‘save me,’ i.e., ‘take me away from all this,’” he added. 

Months after his split with Cynthia Lennon, John Lennon and Yoko Ono got married in 1969. They appeared in their infamous honeymoon “Bed-In for Peace,” also collaborating on music and advocating for love and peace. 

Cynthia Lennon was ‘in a daze’ after learning about John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Cynthia Lennon knew of Yoko Ono, with John Lennon mentioning her art exhibit as a joke. Yoko Ono sometimes wrote to the Beatles member and at one point, Lennon confessed to his wife that he was seeing other women. 

After a trip to Greece, Cynthia Lennon discovered her husband and Yoko Ono were romantically involved. Cynthia Lennon first found her husband home with her, “sitting on the floor, cross-legged and facing each other, beside a table covered with dirty dishes.”

“I was in a daze,” she wrote. “My mind seemed to be floating and I couldn’t focus on anything other than the vivid image of them together. Every time I saw it I was overwhelmed by a fresh stab of pain, yet I couldn’t stop myself [from] conjuring it up as I tried to take in the betrayal.” 

“Their intimacy had been so powerful that I had felt like a stranger in my own home,” Lennon noted in the same memoir. She added that Paul McCartney visited her after the divorce was finalized, bringing her a red rose to apologize. 

Cynthia Lennon remained close with friends adjacent to the rock band. That includes Mo Starkey, the ex-wife of Ringo Starr. 

Related

John Lennon Said the Press Had a ‘Field Day’ Writing ‘Derogatory Garbage’ About Yoko Ono

Did John Lennon and Yoko Ono have children?

Although John Lennon told Cynthia Lennon he still loved her, the two got a divorce shortly after. John Lennon and Yoko Ono eventually moved to New York, where they had a son together — Sean Taro Ono Lennon.

The two remained together until Lennon’s death in 1980. Now, music by John Lennon is available on most major streaming platforms.