Stephen Hawking was one of the most brilliant minds of our time, but he was also a man who faced many challenges in his personal life. His first wife, Jane Hawking, was not only his partner, but also his caregiver, his mother, and his friend. Their marriage was unconventional, but also inspiring and touching.
Jane Hawking met Stephen Hawking when they were both students at Cambridge University in the early 1960s. They fell in love and got married in 1965, shortly after Stephen was diagnosed with motor neuron disease (ALS), a condition that gradually paralyzed him and reduced his life expectancy to a few years. Jane was determined to support him and make the most of their time together.
However, as Stephen’s condition worsened, Jane faced increasing difficulties and pressures. She had to balance her role as a wife, a mother of three children, a PhD student, and a fulltime caregiver. She also had to deal with Stephen’s fame, his atheism, and his stubbornness. She once said: “I had two tiny babies, I was running the home and looking after Stephen full time: dressing, bathing, and he refused to have any help with that other than from me.”
To cope with the situation, Jane came up with a creative solution. She offered free room-and-board at their home to students who would help care for Stephen. She hoped that this would not only ease her burden, but also provide some companionship and stimulation for Stephen. However, she later admitted: “I rather felt that the family were not able to give him the peace and quiet he needed for his work.”
Jane also faced some challenges in her relationship with Stephen. They had different views on religion, as Jane was a devout Christian and Stephen was an atheist. They also had different interests and personalities. Jane was passionate about medieval Spanish poetry and music, while Stephen was obsessed with physics and cosmology. They often had arguments and misunderstandings.
Despite these difficulties, Jane remained loyal and devoted to Stephen for 30 years. She said: “I was not a nurse, I was not a saint, I was not a martyr. I was a wife.” She also praised Stephen for his courage and resilience. She said: “He has his family, he has his work, he has his carers. He is completely self-sufficient but he is not integrated into society. I would say that is largely because society has not accepted him.”
However, their marriage eventually ended in 1995, when Stephen left Jane for one of his nurses, Elaine Mason. Jane remarried Jonathan Jones, an old family friend who had helped her cope with Stephen’s illness. She also wrote a memoir called Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen, which was adapted into the movie The Theory of Everything in 2014.
The movie portrayed their marriage as a love story that transcended time and space. It also showed their struggles and sacrifices as they faced Stephen’s disease and fame. The movie received critical acclaim and several awards nominations.
Jane Hawking is more than just Stephen Hawking’s first wife. She is a remarkable woman who has lived an extraordinary life. She has shown us what it means to love someone unconditionally, to overcome adversity with grace, and to pursue one’s own dreams with passion.
Relevant articles:
– TIL Stephen Hawking’s wife Jane offered free room-and-board at their home to students who would help care for her husband. Stephen needed fulltime help with dressing, bathing, and did not want help from anyone other than Jane, Reddit, January 12, 2013
– Jane Hawking: ‘There were four of us in our marriage’, The Guardian, May 16, 2015
– Jane Hawking – Wikipedia, Wikipedia, accessed on September 13, 2023
– Why Jane Hawking Is More Than Stephen Hawking’s First Wife, All That’s Interesting, January 5, 2022