A relationship of over two decades...

Yoko Ono's "Scandalous" First Relationship After John Lennon's Death

After John Lennon was assassinated in 1980, his partner, Yoko Ono, went on to maintain a relationship with an artist of Hungarian origin, with whom she remained for several decades. However, that relationship has been criticized for the way it emerged...

John Lennon's relationship with Japanese artist Yoko Ono was one of the most discussed in the arts world of the late 20th century.

However, that's not the case with the relationship that Ono herself had with a man named Sam Havadtoy after Lennon's death. Havadtoy is an artist of Hungarian origin who was in a relationship with Yoko for several decades after Lennon was murdered in 1980.

Sam Havadtoy, Yoko Ono's partner after John Lennon's death

However, there is some controversy around the origins of the relationship, as well as how soon Yoko Ono was publicly with Havadtoy, often described as her "companion," after Lennon's death.

Andy Peebles, a former BBC reporter who was the last to interview John and Yoko before the death of ex-Beatle, has criticized Yoko's relationship with Sam for these reasons.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono at the Paris Flea Market, March 22, 1969.

Soon after Lennon passed away, Havadtoy moved into Ono's building, grew his hair long, and began to dress in Lennon's clothes. Peebles explained to Daily Mail: "I began to wonder if Yoko had encouraged John to go off and have a fling with their PA, May Pang [...] so that she could explore her attraction to Sam Havadtoy."

Thus, it's thought that the relationship with Havadtoy existed even prior to Lennon's death. They'd become connected after Lennon was a client of Havadtoy, a designer. Peebles added: "I knew she was in a new relationship with Sam Havadtoy, a sculptor and antiques expert 20 years her junior, and a former Lennon aide. It was quite scandalous."

Sam Havadtoy: Yoko Ono's partner after John Lennon's death.

It is even said that the song "I'm Losing You" from Lennon's Double Fantasy refers to Ono's attraction to Sam Havadtoy. Be that as it may, Ono remained protective of her private life in the decades after her husband's death.

In a 1990 interview, she and Havadoty did confirm they were dating but not secretly married, as was rumoured at the time. They ended their relationship in 2001, after a romance that lasted over 20 years.