May Pang Revealed Yoko Ono Did Ask John Lennon for a Divorce

While Yoko Ono and John Lennon were a power couple in the late 1960s and 1970s, the two went through a rough patch between 1973 and 1975. The couple separated briefly, and John Lennon began dating their assistant, May Pang. While John and Yoko never officially separated, Pang recently revealed that Ono did ask the “Imagine” singer for a divorce. 

Yoko Ono set John Lennon up with May Pang during his “Lost Weekend”

John Lennon and Yoko Ono separated in 1973. The pair reunited in 1975, but this period became known as Lennon’s “Lost Weekend.” The 18-month era saw a boom in musical production from Lennon and a series of public drunken outbursts. Lennon also started a relationship with Pang, and the two moved to Los Angeles. 

Pang is sharing her experience of their relationship in a new documentary, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. In an interview with Yahoo! Entertainment to promote the film, Pang shared some unknown details about their relationship. One important thing to note is that Lennon did not cheat on Ono with Pang. Their relationship was set up by Ono, who asked if Pang could date the former Beatle. 

“I also want to correct that it wasn’t John so much — it was actually Yoko who approached me,” Pang said. “It was only later on when John realized and said, ‘Listen, we’re not getting along, and she’s pushing me into something. I wasn’t going in that direction, but if you’re going keep pushing me… all right, fine.’ He decided to test the waters. So, he came over to me, and yes, he kissed me. But who doesn’t [go for it] in that sense?”

Ono did ask Lennon for a divorce

John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s relationship did survive the “Lost Weekend,” but there was a time when it almost ended in a legal sense. While Ono set the two up, she might not have expected Pang and Lennon’s relationship to last as long as it did. Pang told Yahoo! Ono did ask for a divorce, but Lennon still didn’t return to her and appeared ready to move on. 

“A lot of people don’t realize this, but she did ask for a divorce in ’74, in February. [John] had to come back to New York for immigration purposes, and I heard they were going to meet in the lawyer’s office to go over things. She wanted to tell him at the lawyer’s office with other people that she wanted a divorce because she was afraid he was going to go off the deep end. And when he went and came back a few hours later after the meeting… [he told me], ‘Well, I’m going to be a free man in six months. She asked for a divorce,’ and I said, ‘Fine.’ And I don’t think that that’s the answer she was really looking for!”

Lennon and Ono reconciled in 1975

While the relationship between May Pang and John Lennon was more than just a fling, he and Yoko Ono rekindled their flame in 1975. Pang and Lennon planned on meeting Paul and Linda McCartney in New Orleans, but the plans were canceled when Lennon met with Ono the day before. 

They got back together and had their son, Sean, later that year. Pang later married record producer Tony Visconti in 1989. They had two children together before they got divorced in 2000.