Months after the release of ‘The Lost Weekend: A Love Story,’ the documentary about her, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono, May Pang recalled how her relationship with the late Beatle started in a recent interview with Fox 2 Detroit.
During the chat, Pang said she met the band members in the summer of 1970 when they were about to break up. Upon that, the interviewer referred to Ono’s offer for her to have an ‘affair’ with Lennon, to which she said:
“That was in ’73. That’s fifty years ago. I know it sounds wild, but it’s fifty years ago. You know, I’m sitting in the office, thinking – I hadn’t had my first cup of coffee – ‘What is she saying to me?’ So, this whole thing happened, and I’m sitting there going, ‘But I don’t want him.’ She goes, ‘Oh, I know, but he’s gonna start seeing other people, but I think you’ll be good ’cause you don’t have a boyfriend.’ And I’m going, ‘But I don’t want him.'”
The former music executive went on to explain why she rejected Yoko Ono:
“Now, when you work for somebody, you know their dynamics. I don’t wanna get in the mix of this. I’m fine with my job. I’m sitting behind the desk. I’m fine. You know, working in the studio or whatever else. And she kept saying, ‘I think it would be good for him.’ I’m saying no, and then she walks out of the room. She goes, ‘I think you should,’ and that’s how it started.”
When the interviewer reminded her that she eventually accepted the relationship, Pang revealed:
“Because the fact is he really chased after me after that. A little way down, but he chased after me. That’s how it started. Not because Yoko said, ‘Oh, you should go.'”
The affair lasted for 18 months, a period during which Lennon mentioned he was the happiest in a chat with Larry Kane. However, their relationship eventually ended, and the ex-Beatle found his way back to Ono.
Years later, in a chat with The Guardian, May Pang recounted what happened after the husband and wife reunited:
“I said: ‘Congratulations. You got John back. You should be very happy now.’ Her response was very interesting to me. She said: “Happy? I don’t know if I’ll ever be happy.’ To me, that didn’t sound like somebody warmly inviting that person back into their life.”
During this period, John Lennon wrote ‘Surprise Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox)’ from his ‘Walls and Bridges’ album, which Pang claimed was about her. You can listen to the song in the video below and watch the recent interview here.