John Lennon’s Aunt Flew Into a Violent Rage Because He Bought His Girlfriend a Coat
John Lennon was raised by his Aunt Mimi, and, by many accounts, the pair had a complicated relationship. Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, witnessed their dynamic. She noted one experience in particular when Lennon bought her a new coat. His aunt was so upset that she began throwing things at the couple. Cynthia shared the way this impacted Lennon.
John Lennon was raised by his aunt
Lennon was born in 1940 to his mother, Julia, and father, Alfred. His parents eventually ended their relationship, and after his Aunt Mimi complained to Social Services about Julia twice, Julia gave her custody of Lennon. According to his bandmates, Lennon’s life with Mimi was more “posh” than the rest of The Beatles’ upbringings.
“He was in Menlove Avenue and I was off an avenue called Madison Avenue,” McCartney told Lennon’s son Sean in a BBC Radio 2 broadcast called John Lennon at 80 (via Express). “Compared to the rest of us in The Beatles, he was the posh one.”
She was upset to learn he had ‘wasted’ money on a coat
Cynthia Lennon spent a good deal of time around Aunt Mimi in her relationship with Lennon. She recalled a time when they went to see her not long after Lennon had bought her a new leather coat.
“We went to visit Mimi,” Cynthia wrote in her book, John. “There was a delicatessen called Cooper’s next door to C&A, so we bought her a cooked chicken for tea and set off, full of high spirits. But if we thought we could share our happiness with Mimi, or that she would be pleased to see us, we revised our opinion fast.”
Lennon’s aunt was furious to see that he had spent money on a coat. She felt it was a waste.
“When she saw the coat and heard that John had bought it for me she hit the roof,” Cynthia wrote. “She screamed at John that he’d spent his money on a ‘gangster’s moll’ (even with Mimi yelling at us it was funny) and hurled first the chicken, which she grabbed from me, then a hand mirror at John. ‘Do you think you can butter me up with this chicken when you’ve spent all your money on this?’ she screamed. ‘Get out.’”
Lennon and Cynthia left, and he apologized to her for his aunt’s behavior. She believed he was ashamed that she had witnessed his aunt’s outburst.
Cynthia Lennon said she felt bad for John Lennon’s aunt
Though Lennon and Cynthia divorced in 1968, she attended Mimi’s funeral in 1991. Cynthia said that while she felt bad for Mimi, she hadn’t necessarily softened toward her.
“When she died I went to the funeral, with John’s sisters and cousins,” she wrote. “Mimi had been the eldest of the five Stanley sisters but was the last to die, having reached the ripe old age of eighty-nine. Her nurse told Julia that Mimi’s last words had been, ‘I’m afraid of dying. I’ve been a wicked woman.’ When I heard this it sent a chill through me. I felt sorry for Mimi, who had obviously suffered, but her self-assessment had been true.”
