How John Lennon's marriage to first wife crumbled

John Lennon with his first wife Cynthia in 1964 [Image: Getty]

John Lennon’s marriage to his first wife came crashing down after he began sleeping with second wife Yoko Ono. The Beatles star was caught red-handed by his wife when she returned home from holiday and found Yoko in her house, wearing a bathrobe and sipping on a cup of tea. The entire marriage was a dramatic rollercoaster ride.

John married artist Cynthia Powell in 1962. They had met in 1957 while they were both students at the Liverpool College of Art. When he asked her out, she told him she was engaged and he responded: "I didn't ask you to f***ing marry me, did I?" John was jealous by nature and grew to be possessive of Cynthia. He'd often terrify her with his anger and physical violence. He later said that it wasn't until he met his second wife Yoko that he questioned his chauvinistic attitude towards women.