When John first met Yoko at an art exhibition in 1966, his marriage to Cynthia, the mother of his son Julian, was disintegrating. In less than a year John and Yoko began their affair and Cynthia filed for divorce. At this time, the Beatles were at their height and touring regularly.
Yoko was an avant-garde Japanese artist and an activist, with a bohemian bent. She had been married twice before, once to a Japanese musician and once to an American Cox, with whom she had a daughter Kyoko.
John and Yoko got married in Gibralter in 1969 with Peter Brown, Brian Epstein's assistant, as their only witness. They honeymooned in Amsterdam with a week-long Bed for Peace. They planned to continue this form of protest against the Vietnam War in the United States but weren't allowed so they held another Bed for Peace in the Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal. It was here that he wrote and recorded the song "Give Peace a Chance"
The Beatles band were hitting some rough times now, with infighting and power plays. Yoko managed to alienate the other Beatles and was blamed by them and others for the breakup of the band and for leading John in another direction from his music. Yoko was a main reason for John's continuing activism.
After the breakup of the Beatles John and Yoko moved to New York and John began his solo music career. At one time when he was recording and Yoko had been involved in a car accident, he had a king sized bed moved into the studio for her. He also became more active in protests for peace, for race relations, and for women's rights. The Nixon administration began a movement to get him deported. During these attempts at deportation they were supported by other artists such as Dylan who wrote on their behalf, "John and Yoko add a great voice and drive to the country's so-called art institution. They inspire and transcend and stimulate. Hurray for John and Yoko."
In 1973 John and Yoko separated for just over a year. John referred to it later as his "lost weekend." He spent this "lost weekend" with their personal assistant May Pang, strangely enough at Yoko's urging. Pang encouraged John to make contact with both his estranged son and his former band members during this time which he did with marginal success.
Shortly after re-uniting with Yoko she became pregnant and gave birth to their son Sean. Now John left his music career for five years to become a househusband and raise his son. Then in 1980 he again took up his music and released an album. On December 8th of the same year, John was shot by Mark David Chapman as he and Yoko were returning to their New York apartment.
The next day Yoko said. "There is no funeral for John. John lived and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him." She scattered some of his ashes in Central Park. The exact location isn't known but is believed to be in the area which would later hold the memorial Strawberry Fields