As a bandmate Paul McCartney Will note later, the Beatles' John Lennon Young life was full of tragedy.

After his father grew up in a turbulent family dynamic Alfred at a young age and is survived by his mother Julia Let her sister Mary "Mimi" Smith Growing up, John's family life was not smooth sailing.

A grown man welcomed two boys, Julian Lennon, 61, and Sean Ono Lennon, 49, - and each had a completely different father before his untimely death in December 1980 at the age of 40.

These days, the brothers "face ghosts together," Julian said in an interview Esquire In 2021.

“It's funny because there was always, especially in the UK press, 'Lennon's sons feuding,' this, that. We never had a fight in our life. It's such bull,” he said.

Scroll through to learn more about John's key family members throughout his life.

Julian Lennon

John's journey into fatherhood got off to a controversial start when he and Then the girlfriend Cynthia Powell They discover they are expecting a child after failing to use contraception.

When John (then 21) found out Cynthia (then 22) was pregnant, he decided they would get married - and the pair tied the knot in 1962. Their son Julian was born in April 1963 but John missed the birth due to his duties. The Beatles.

While John was close to Julian for the first few years of his life, he eventually Leave Cynthia for Yoko Ono And she had a tense relationship with Julian for most of her life.

Julian later reflected on his complicated relationship with John in an interview The Guardian In 2020.

“Then suddenly my father literally disappeared off the face of the planet. At least, it seemed so to me. He and Yoko Ono were deeply and openly in love. And I felt like my mother and I had been cast aside," she told the outlet. "Maybe 10 years passed during which my father and I barely spoke. I was very angry about how he left the family. It was thanks to my mother that we started talking again. She was such a gentle soul, never in any way. , was not vindictive in any way shape or form. He always wanted me to be in a relationship with him."

Julian, who is the inspiration behind Paul McCartney "Hey Jude" was written for him. After John and Cynthia divorced, he also shared that he finally reconnected with his father before his death.

“The first time I visited him in the US after my parents divorced, I was scared. I was becoming more aware of the enormity of this man,” he said The Guardian. “To my relief, the visit was a success. My father was charming and funny and warm. Since that trip, I think we've gotten better."

Sean Ono Lennon

In stark contrast to his parenting style with Julian, John was a much more hands-on father the second time around.

John welcomed his youngest son Sean into the world in October 1975 with second wife Yoko and took a break from music to become a house husband.

In an interview with Dr playboy Which took place in September, 1980 and was released in January, 1981, John shared how well he took to the role.

"I'm baking bread and taking care of the baby ... because bread and baby, as every housewife knows, is a full-time job," she told the magazine at the time.

unfortunately, John was fatally shot In December 1980, when Sean was just five years old.

talking The Rolling Stones In 2020, Shawn reflected on how his father's death affected him and explained that he still had memories of his father while he was alive.

"A lot of people don't remember when they were five," he said during the interview. “I've never asked a psychologist, but I assume because my father's death was so traumatic for me that many of those early memories remain. I have more memories of being five and four than I did when I was 16.

Julia and Alfred Lennon

John's parents Julia And Alfred Lennon First met when they were teenagers and secretly married a decade later in 1938. John was born in 1940 but his parents did not raise him - Julia allowed his sister Mary "Mimi" Smith to raise his son.

Fellow Beatle, McCartney, spoke about John's troubled upbringing at the 2023 Tribeca Festival.

"As a child, his mother ordered him not to be good enough to raise him... his father left home when John was 3. So it's not too surprising," McCartney, 82, recalled. “It made me understand why he had this weakness. I always admired the way he dealt with it because I'm not sure I would have dealt with what he went through that well."

Julia was tragically killed in 1958 at the age of 44 after being hit by a car. John was just a teenager.

“It was another big trauma for me. I lost him twice. When I was five years old and I moved in with my aunt, and then when she physically died,” he said playboy In 1980. “It made me more bitter; The chip on my shoulder as a teenager really got bigger then. I was actually re-establishing a relationship with him and he was killed."

John and Alfred were estranged for most of their lives but reunited on Alfred's deathbed in 1976.

Mimi Smith

John was raised by his aunt, Mimi, and her husband George Smith. Mimi and John remained close throughout their lives. After his success with The Beatles, John bought Mimi a property in Dorset, UK where she lived until her death in 1991.