( CNN ) Cynthia Lennon , who married John Lennon when he was a struggling musician and was there when he rose to fame with the Beatles , died Wednesday , according to a post on the website of her son , Julian . She was 75 . `` Cynthia Lennon passed away today at her home in Mallorca , Spain , following a short but brave battle with cancer . Her son Julian Lennon was at her bedside throughout , '' his website says . `` The family are thankful for your prayers . Please respect their privacy at this difficult time . '' John and Cynthia Lennon were married for six years , from 1962 to 1968 . The pair met at art school , where Cynthia studied to be an illustrator and John practiced painting -- in between concerts with a band that would become the Beatles . `` When we were at art college , I think he was more interested in the music than he was in the art , '' she told ClassicBands.com . Cynthia Lennon , born Cynthia Powell in 1939 , was a stabilizing force for the young John , who lost his mother when he was a teenager and was raised by his Aunt Mimi . `` John was always insecure , '' she said in a 2005 interview , having lost his mother at a young age . But his humor -- and his wildness -- were attractive , she told ClassicBands.com . `` He was a rebel . He was outrageous . That was something I had n't experienced before the age that I was , which was about 16 or 17 . I 'd had quite a normal , straightforward life , '' she said . `` I was just instantly attracted to him . '' The two married in 1962 , just as the Beatles were making their rise . Their son , Julian , was born April 8 , 1963 . Lennon 's sometimes-brittle personality and his overwhelming fame became a challenge for Cynthia . During her pregnancy , `` I was not supposed to be known or heard about . In the wisdom , or lack of wisdom , anything to do with somebody becoming famous , male , was not supposed to be married or have ( a ) girlfriend . '' She was threatened by fans and occasionally in danger of being left behind in the band 's whirlwind ; when the group traveled to Bangor , Wales , to meet with the Maharishi in 1967 , Cynthia was caught in a scrum and could n't make the train in time . She was also there on the 1965 night George Harrison , Patti Boyd and Lennon were dosed with LSD -- an experience she disliked -- and traveled to India with the band in early 1968 . The couple divorced in 1968 , by which time John was seeing Yoko Ono . Cynthia Lennon married three more times after John and wrote two books about her marriage to the Beatle , `` A Twist of Lennon '' and `` John . '' She had no contact with the surviving members of the band until meeting up at the 2006 Las Vegas premiere of `` The Beatles Love . '' For all the difficulties and disappointments -- she described Julian , for whom she wrote `` John , '' as `` very scarred by life '' -- she acknowledged that the whirlwind could also be enthralling . `` The whole situation changed my life completely . God knows where I would 've been ended up . I probably would 've been a schoolteacher with about three or four children in a boring situation , '' she told ClassicBands.com . `` I 've had the most amazing life , a wonderful life . '' She is survived by her son . Her fourth husband , Noel Charles , died in 2013 . People we 've lost in 2015 . CNN 's Josh Levs contributed to this story .
Cynthia Lennon was John Lennon 's first wife . Comment: Her death was announced by her son , Julian .