He once dubbed women a "complete mystery".And in the years before his death, Professor Stephen Hawking's troubled love life was well-documented.The renowned British physicist went through two marriage breakdowns - the first with his university sweetheart, Jane Hawking, with whom he had three kids.The second was with his nurse, Elaine Mason, from whom he split in 2006 after what he described as a "passionate and tempestuous" 11-year marriage.Prof Hawking, widely regarded as one of the most intelligent people the world has ever known, passed away peacefully at his home in the early hours of today.As a 22-year-old, he had been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a rare form of motor neurone disease, and given just a few years to live.But defying medics' expectations, he lived to 76, marrying twice and having children Lucy, Robert and Tim before his death at his Cambridge property.By the time of his diagnosis five decades ago, Prof Hawking had already met his future wife Jane Wilde, a languages student who pulled him out of a deep depression.The young couple fell for each other after meeting at a party in 1962.They married in 1965 and went on to have Robert, followed by Lucy and Tim.Although Prof Hawking's disease progressed rapidly, it eventually slowed as he devoted himself to his studies and work, investigating the basic laws which govern the universe, without knowing how much time he had left to live.But while his work life was flourishing, the celebrated physicist's marriage was under immense strain as his isolated wife struggled to cope with the demands of a young family and a husband in a wheelchair.In 2015, Jane told the Telegraph that she was driven to the brink of suicide several times while caring for her spouse and their children.In Prof Hawking's memoir, My Brief History, published in 2013, the physicist wrote that his wife feared he would die soon and, when that happened, she wanted someone who would support her and marry her.In 1977, Jane met musician Jonathan Hellyer Jones after joining a local church choir.He moved into the family's Cambridge flat with Prof Hawking's blessing, as he too wanted someone to care for his wife and kids after he died.But although Jane and Jonathan maintained a platonic relationship for a long time, Prof Hawking reportedly grew increasingly unhappy with it.He grew close to Elaine - who was one of his nurses and whose first husband invented the computerised voice synthesiser that he used.In 1990, after 26 years of marriage, he left Jane and moved into a flat with Elaine.Five years later, he divorced his first wife and married the nurse.Two years on, in 1997, Jane and Jonathan tied the knot.In 2004, nurses caring for Prof Hawking went to police with allegations that his second wife was physically and emotionally abusing him.However, the physicist and Elaine denied the allegations and an investigation was dropped by police.The couple eventually divorced in 2006.While he had a grasp on things th
13 мар 2018
