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John Lennon and Yoko Ono were married for years, but they spent a period of their relationship apart during his “lost weekend.” During this time, Lennon created new music, spent long, boozy nights out, and had an affair with the couple’s assistant, May Pang. This notorious period of Lennon’s history is the subject of a new documentary film, The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. In it, Pang shares her side of the story.

A black and white picture of May Pang and John Lennon sitting at a dinner table during his lost weekend.
May Pang and John Lennon | Ron Galella, Ltd./Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

John Lennon’s ‘lost weekend’ occurred during his separation from Yoko Ono 

In 1969, Lennon and Ono married. By the early 1970s, their relationship was struggling. Ono disclosed this to Pang, who was then working as their assistant.

“Listen, May,” Ono told Pang, per her book Loving John. “John and I are not getting along. We’ve been arguing. We’re growing apart.”

Ono felt that the couple needed time apart, but she didn’t want Lennon to be by himself. So, she told a shocked Pang that she should begin a relationship with the former Beatle.

“I refused,” Pang told People. “I respected their marriage. I said, ‘That’s not what I want to do.’ I was very happy as a worker.”

Eventually, though, Pang said that Lennon “charmed the pants off” her, and they began an 18-month relationship. This period, which Lennon would later refer to as his “lost weekend,” was characterized by vibrant bursts of creativity but also heavy drug and alcohol use, late nights, and violent behavior.

John Lennon’s ‘lost weekend’ is the subject of a new documentary

Pang has written about her time with Lennon, and in 2023, she is the subject of the documentary The Lost Weekend: A Love Story. People have often viewed the “lost weekend” as a drunken blip in Lennon’s life, a scuff mark on an otherwise happy marriage with Ono. Pang wants the documentary to tell a different side of the story.

“He would sarcastically say to them: ‘Hey it was a drunken weekend, OK?'” Pang said, per The Guardian. “People don’t understand that the phrase wasn’t about our relationship.”

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Pang is at the center of the film, but it also provides an intimate portrait of Lennon. He reconnects with his son, Julian, and his first wife, Cynthia. He also collaborates with artists like Elton John, David Bowie, and Harry Nilsson. 

The documentary features rare archival footage and home recordings, providing a valuable snapshot of this period of history. It comes to theaters on April 13, 2023.  

May Pang said their relationship didn’t fully end

Lennon ultimately returned to his marriage with Ono, but according to Pang, she remained in his life for years.

“He’d secretly come over to see me. He would say, ‘You know, I still love you,'” she said. “He said things to me that were really very intimate and you could sense there was something still. It was gnawing at him. It was not a finished situation.”

With this information and the portrait of her in the documentary, Pang comes across as one of the more important figures in Lennon’s life.

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