Stephen Hawking and his wife: a love story of a genius with a non-standard appearance
'14.03.2018'
Not being able to speak independently, he forced thousands of audiences to applaud his performances and, being married twice, managed to be the most unhappy man in the world twice.
Stephen Hawking is one of the most famous scientists and theoretical physicists in the world. Born January 8, 1942 in Oxford. At first, Stephen was a normal healthy child, but over time he developed amphiotrophic lateral sclerosis, diagnosed in the early 1960s, just as Hawking was graduating from Oxford University (1962).
At first, he still walked with a cane, but the disease still led to paralysis and put him in a wheelchair, and after surgery to remove the trachea, Stephen was unable to speak.
Stephen was predicted that he would only live to 30, but he lived to 77, having written numerous scientific papers, married twice and raised three children of his own. In 2013 Stephen Hawking released his autobiography “My Brief History“, In which he spoke in detail about his marriages and how much pain they brought him.
1965 year. Jan wilde
After Steven was diagnosed terribly, he fell into a rather serious depression, accepting the words of the doctors as a life sentence: “You will live 2-2,5 of the year”. It was at this time at the university that he met Jen Wilde.
Stephen and Jen met students when they were at Oxford (some sources say it was at Cambridge). According to Stephen, the meeting with Jen helped him out of depression, giving hope for the future, children and family.
Their first son, Robert, was born in 1967 while Jen was doing her doctorate. The second child was born in 1968, and the third in 1969. Every year, more and more responsibilities fell on the shoulders of the woman, and Stephen became weaker - and Jen fell into depression. As Stephen writes in his book, Jen found it very difficult to look after her three children and her husband, who is confined to a wheelchair.
In complete despair, Jen began to look for a man who could take care of her and the children after Stephen's death. This man turned out to be a musician - Jonathan Jones, whom Jen settled in the same apartment with her family. By the way, Jonathan was Stephen's friend. According to Stephen, he was against this situation, but since he was promised an early death, but at the same time he also wanted someone to take responsibility for his family after his death.
In fact, the wife officially brought her lover to their family. Perhaps if Stephen could walk or shout, his wife would have left this strange undertaking, but, having conquered, he tried to understand her spouse and, with great resentment and reluctance, nevertheless agreed, partly because he himself was sure that will not live long.
According to Jen, at the beginning of their relationship with Stephen, she was attracted by his wide smile and big gray eyes, but their marriage ruined the sudden glory of her husband and his illness. For the world, he was a great scientist, but for his household, his illness was like a black hole.
Despite the difficulties that Stephen and Jen faced, he nevertheless writes that he is very grateful to his first wife for the fact that she was near at the most difficult moment of his life.
In 1985, Stephen got pneumonia, and the doctors advised Jen to disconnect him from the machines, but Jen refused to do it, thereby saving Stephen's life.
Stephen and Jen were able to give a good education to the children. Especially close with her father became daughter Lucy. She studied at Oxford, studied French and Russian. She is a journalist by profession and very often appeared on speeches with her father.
According to Lucy, she did not immediately understand that her father, who was chained to a wheelchair, was different from the others. This awareness came to her at the age of six. Stephen Hawking’s daughters had to explain to their peers why her dad was sitting all the time.
“I remember once at school all the children showed photos of their loved ones. My friend looked at my photo and said: "Why is your dad sitting?". All the other children had their parents in the photo. But my dad was sitting, and I said, “Hm! This is because he is in the chair. ” She asked why. And I replied that he was in a wheelchair and always sitting. Then for the first time I realized that my father is not like everyone else, ”recalls a woman.
In 1990, due to the prevailing family situation, Stephen moved from home with one of his caregivers, Elaine Mason. In 1991, Stephen and Jen divorced after 26 years of marriage.
1995 year. Elaine mason
Stephen and his carer Elaine got married in 1995, and their marriage lasted 12 years. Stephen describes his relationship with Elaine as stormy and passionate. Elaine appeared in Stephen's house in the 80s, after Stephen lost his ability to speak.
Her husband was the very engineer who designed the speech apparatus for Stephen. Elaine left a spouse and two children after 15 years of marriage. In 2004, the police questioned Stephen about information that Elaine was using physical force against him, but Stephen denied these allegations.
However, various sources indicate that Elaine was very cruel to Stephen. Steven was brought to the hospital a couple of times with cuts, bruises and broken arms, but Stephen refused to explain anything.
According to one of the nurses, Elaine called Stephen crippled, in every way mocked him. So, they told that his wife purposely washed Stephen in either very hot or, on the contrary, cold water. In the summer, she deliberately left him in the courtyard under the scorching sun, selecting a computer mouse so that the man could not call for help. That day he was taken to hospital with terrible burns and sunstroke. She called him stupid, beat, humiliated and simply scoffed, knowing full well that Stephen could not stand up for himself.
Hawking's daughter told how she once came to visit her dad and saw the following picture: pretty much drunk Alaine in the company of men laughed and drank while Stephen sat absolutely alone in the corner of the room, watching this "party".
According to another nurse, Elaine pursued only vested interests, marrying Stephen. Their common home in Cambridge was bought by a scientist for 750,000 pounds, and Stephen’s income from his books was about 2 million.
Numerous sources write that as soon as Elaine married Steven, she immediately began to get rid of the old carers and hired only those people whom she could control. Elaine was terribly jealous of Steven's relationship with his children, and therefore constantly hammered into his head that she was the only person who needed him.
And although in 2004, Stephen refuted all the allegations that his wife used physical force against him, but in his book he still admits that he and Eline had difficulties, but her medical care helped him a lot.
In 2006, Stephen and Elaine divorced, which undoubtedly made his children and close friends very happy.
Until his last days he worked, took part in conferences, conducted scientific activities and even starred in films. The scientist's zest for life and faith in himself were so strong that they made him believe - nothing is impossible! Pride for this man has always coexisted with incredible pity because he, an adult, intelligent, talented, remained so defenseless and dependent. But he endured all the tests with dignity, as befits a man, and with wisdom, as befits a scientist.
