May Pang Cried When Yoko Ono Suggested She Date John Lennon
In 1973, John Lennon and Yoko Ono separated for about 18 months. During that time, Lennon began dating their former assistant, May Pang. While many believed this to be an affair, Ono herself actually orchestrated the relationship. While Lennon and Pang did have a loving relationship, the initial suggestion caught Pang off guard.
Yoko Ono set May Pang up with John Lennon
May Pang was just 19 years old when she started working at Apple Corps., the company founded by The Beatles. While working there, she became the assistant to Lennon and Yoko. One day, Ono walked into her office and told her that the former Beatle was going to start seeing other people, and she suggested she go out with him. In an interview with Variety, Pang said she found the situation “insane,” but still went with Lennon when he invited her to Los Angeles.
“Yes, Yoko did approach me, and I thought it was insane,” Pang shared. “I told her I wasn’t interested at all. They were having problems in their marriage; they actually weren’t talking to each other. But John spontaneously decided to go to L.A. on his own and asked me to go with him. Yoko wasn’t even aware we had gone until after we left.”
Pang started crying after Ono suggested she date the former Beatle
May Pang and John Lennon dated for 18 months between 1973 and 1975. Lennon called this his “Lost Weekend” as his separation from Yoko impacted his mental state and drinking habits. Pang is telling her side of the story in a new documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story, and recently gave an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment where she shared her experience.
Pang recalled the day when Ono came into her office and said she should go out with John. While Pang said she wasn’t interested, Ono made it seem like it was an order more than a request. Pang recalled crying while repeatedly trying to say no.
“When [Yoko] came into my office, literally, after she walked out and said, ‘I think you should go out with him,’ and I’m saying no to her, I was crying. I hadn’t even had my first cup of coffee yet, and I’m sitting there thinking, ‘What just happened?’ I kept telling her no, and this went on for a little bit. I only find out later that Yoko had gone to [John] and said, ‘Hey, I fixed it for you! … I fixed it so you can actually go out with May.’ And he’s also in disbelief at the same time.”
Pang doesn’t regret her and Lennon’s relationship
After reconciling with Yoko Ono, John Lennon abruptly ended his relationship with May Pang in 1975. While the initial situation was bizarre, Pang said she and the “Mother” singer had a good relationship, and she doesn’t regret her decision to date him.
“I don’t think you can’t have regrets,” Pang explained. “You can only learn. I was meant to obviously go into this space somehow, and if you have regrets, then you haven’t learned anything. So, now I have to own up to that and figure out where my next steps are. … I mean, I would like to see if there is another partner out there. But that’s not easy. That part’s not easy.”
