On April 1, 2015, Cynthia Lennon (born Cynthia Powell in Blackpool and raised in Hoylake on the Wirral Peninsula), died in Calvia, Mallorca, at the age of 75 following a brief bout with cancer, her son Julian by her side. Public messages of condolence were made by McCartney and Starr, with the former saying "She was a lovely lady who I've known since our early days together in Liverpool. She was a good mother to Julian and will be missed by us all ..." and the latter "Peace and love to Julian Lennon God bless Cynthia". Beatles biographer Hunter Davies who had spent considerable time with her and Lennon in the 1960s while researching his book, remembered her as "a lovely woman ... She was totally different from John in that she was quiet, reserved and calm."

John and Cynthia met in 1957 while both were students at Liverpool Art College, and began a relationship the following year. She grew up in the middle-class section of Hoylake, on the Wirral Peninsula in North West England. At the age of 12, she was accepted into the Junior Art School, and was later enrolled in the Liverpool College of Art. John Lennon also attended the college; a meeting with Powell in a calligraphy class led to their relationship.

She later explained that she and Lennon had never used contraception, had never talked about it, and didn't think about it at the time.

In mid-1962 she discovered she was pregnant – the pair had never used contraception. John's reaction when she told him was: "There's only one thing for it Cyn – we'll have to get married". On this date, August 23, 1962, John Lennon married a pregnant Cynthia Powell at Liverpool's Mount Pleasant register office. He then played a gig that night with The Beatles at Liverpool's Riverpark Ballroom. Brian Epstein was the best man, and George Harrison and Paul McCartney were also in attendance. Absent was John's aunt Mimi, who disapproved of the union, although Cynthia's half brother and his wife were there. As soon as the ceremony began, a pneumatic drill outside the building opposite drowned out all that was said; when the registrar asked for the groom to step forward, Harrison did, which only added to the farce.

At Epstein's expense, they celebrated afterwards at Reece's restaurant in Clayton Square, eating a set menu of soup, chicken and trifle. Reece's was where John's parents Alf and Julia had celebrated their own wedding in 1938.

Beatles manager Brian Epstein thought fans of The Beatles might feel alienated to know one of them was married, and so the Lennons kept the wedding a secret. Epstein allowed John and Cynthia to live at his flat at 36 Falkner Street free of charge, where they stayed until the birth of Julian Lennon in April 1963. Thereafter they effectively moved into Mendips with John's aunt Mimi, although by that time John was spending much of his time in London with the band.

In November 1963 she had her son christened at Hoylake parish church, but didn't tell Lennon (who was on tour at the time), because she feared a media circus. She told him two days after, and he was angry as he hadn't wanted his son to be christened, even though Epstein had asked to be Julian's godfather. Not long after the christening, every newspaper was full of the story about Lennon's secret wife and baby boy.

She accompanied Lennon to the United States in the first Beatles' tour there, with Lennon allowing the press to photograph them together, which infuriated Epstein, as he had wanted to keep their marriage a secret. On the tour, she was left behind in New York when Lennon and the other Beatles were quickly ushered into a car, and in Miami she had to ask the help of fans to convince a security guard who she was. Lennon's response was, "Don't be so bloody slow next time—they could have killed you". It would be the only time Cynthia would go on tour with them.

From 1964 to 1968, they lived at Kenwood in the Surrey town of Weybridge, where she kept house and participated with her husband in a London-based social life. Cynthia took care of Julian herself, without a nanny, although babysitters were frequently employed. She also did the cooking herself, but employed a housekeeper, gardener, and chauffeur, who lived off the premises. Cynthia once complained, saying: "What I'd like is a holiday of our own ... John, Julian and me". Lennon replied with, "OK, I know, we'll all retire to a little cottage on a cliff in Cornwall, all right?" Then adding, "No, I've got these bloody songs to write. I have to work, to justify living." She understood his temperament, but felt frustrated at never having developed her own career by using her art college background. John's constant use of drugs drove a wedge between them turning John into an almost recluse in his own home.

Cynthia accompanied John, the other Beatles and their wives/girlfriend to India in February 1968 but before leaving Britain she had discovered letters written by Japanese avant-garde conceptual artist Yoko Ono to John that revealed a relationship for several months. "I had thought our magical interlude with the Maharishi would be the making of our marriage," she later stated, but in reality it just presaged the end".

In 1968, John left her for Yoko Ono and as a result, the couple's divorce was legally granted on 8 November 1968 on the grounds of John's adultery with Ono.

The financial settlement was hampered by Lennon's refusing to offer any more than £75,000 (equivalent to £1,193,700 in 2018) telling her on the phone that the payment was akin to winning the football pools and that she was not worth any more. The settlement was then raised to £100,000 (equivalent to £1,591,600 in 2018)., £2,400 annually (equivalent to £38,200 in 2018)., and custody of Julian. Another £100,000 (equivalent to £1,591,600 in 2018). was put into a trust fund which Julian would inherit when he was 21. Until that time, his mother would receive the interest payments. Their decree nisi was granted on 8 November 1968. The trust fund had one codicil, which provided for any further children by Lennon, so when Sean Lennon was born in 1975, Julian's inheritance was cut to £50,000 (equivalent to £384,900 in 2018).

Cynthia married Italian hotelier Roberto Bassanini in 1970 but divorced him in 1976. She then opened a restaurant in Ruthin, Wales called Oliver's Bistro, which also had a B&B above the premises. Julian had been allowed to visit his father twice a year by himself. On 1 May 1978, Cynthia married John Twist, an engineer. She published a memoir during their time together, A Twist of Lennon, in 1978, telling about her life before and with Lennon and containing her own illustrations and poetry. Lennon tried to stop the publication of the book after an excerpt was published in a newspaper. Cynthia's memoir gained renewed interest and went to a third printing of 200,000 copies in the weeks after Lennon's death. She and Twist separated in 1981 and were divorced in 1982. She began a relationship with Liverpudlian chauffeur Jim Christie in 1981, who became her partner for 17 years as well as her business manager, living in Penrith, Cumbria. In 1995, Cynthia made her recording début with a rendition of "Those Were The Days" which, produced by McCartney, had been a number one hit for Mary Hopkin in 1968. It failed to chart.

Over the years she staged several auctions of memorabilia associated with her life with John Lennon. In 2002, she married Noel Charles, a Barbadian night club owner In September 2005, she published a new biography, John, re-examining her life with Lennon and the years afterwards, including the events following his death. Until her death in 2015, she lived with her husband, Noel in Majorca, Spain.
While we all love John Lennon's music and his legacy will continue to live on, as a human being he more often comes up short. He treated Cynthia and son Julian poorly after they split up. Given the monetary success of The Beatles, his divorce settlement with Cynthia was mean-spirited.

Trapped in a loveless marriage with a child he didn't want, John treated Cynthia unfairly.

~ John Einarson