New documentary looks at John Lennon’s “lost weekend” romance with personal assistant

Tom Wargacki / Contributor

A new documentary is coming out that focuses on John Lennon’s 18-month relationship with his personal assistant during a brief split from Yoko Ono in the early ’70s. 

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story is May Pang’s account of that relationship. Pang, now 72, was just 19 when she got a job working at Apple Records, which eventually led to her becoming Lennon and Ono’s personal assistant.

In a new trailer for the film, archival footage shows Pang explaining how it was Ono who suggested the relationship with Lennon in the first place.

“Yoko walked into my office and said, ‘John and I are not getting along. I want you to go out with him,'” she says. “‘Well are you kidding? I can’t do that, he’s my employer, he’s my boss. He’s your husband.'” Eventually, Pang moved in with Lennon in New York, noting she “was 23 and my first boyfriend was John Lennon.”

Their relationship lasted 18 months and was referred to as Lennon’s “lost weekend.” It ended in February 1975, when Ono decided to return to Lennon.

“[Ono] did not realize it was going to turn into such a big love affair,” Pang says. “She thought it would be two weeks, gone, goodbye. She told me, ‘I’m thinking of taking John back.’ And I said, ‘What?’ And she said, ‘I think it’s time.'” 

The Lost Weekend: A Love Story hits theaters April 13.

Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *