John Lennon First Wife, Cynthia Lennon, Dies of Cancer

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Cynthia Lennon has died on Wednesday, April 1, of cancer at her home in Mallorca, Spain. The first wife of John Lennon was 75.

Her death was announced by the couple's son, Julian Lennon, on his Twitter account and website. This was later confirmed by his representative, according to Miami Herald. The website's memorial page said that Cynthia "passed away today at her home in Mallorca, Spain following a short but brave battle with cancer."

"Her son Julian Lennon was at her bedside throughout. The family are thankful for your prayers," the message read. Accompanying the post is a video tribute accompanied by a song written and sang by Julian to his mother. The video included family pictures and some footage in loving memory of Cynthia.

According to the New York Times, Cynthia met Lennon at the Liverpool College of Art as a student in the 1950s. "He was a total rebel, and everybody was amazed by him," she said in an interview on ABC's Good Morning America in 2005.

They married on August 23, 1962 after she became pregnant with Julian. This was a few weeks before The Beatles shot to worldwide fame with their first single, "Love Me Do." Julian was born on April 1963, but the existence of their marriage and son were hidden by the Beatles' manager, Brian Epstein, as the Fab Four toured across England, noted the NY Times. Hearts were broken when the Beatles appeared as guests on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in 1964 and announced that Lennon was married.

The pair later divorced in 1968 at the height of The Beatles' fame, when Lennon left Cynthia for an affair with a Japanese artist, Yoko Ono. It was reported that she received a settlement pay of £100,000.

As noted in the Miami Herald, to comfort Julian with his parent's breakup, Paul McCartney penned the Beatles' classic song "Hey Jude". McCartney reportedly changed the name from Julian to Jude in the song.

After Cynthia's death was announced, McCartney paid tribute on his blog, saying "She was a lovely lady who I've known since our early days together in Liverpool" and that she was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by all.

Ringo Starr also tweeted, "Peace and love to Julian Lennon God bless Cynthia love Ringo and Barbaraxx"

Yoko Ono also wrote a post on her Facebook, sharing that she was saddened by Cynthia's passing, adding that she was a great person and wonderful mother to Julian. "She had such a strong zest for life and I felt proud how we two women stood firm in the Beatles family," she added.

After Cynthia's divorce from Lennon, she remarried three times with her fourth and final marriage in 2002 to Noel Charles who died in 2013.