Yoko Ono has quietly given up life in New York City after 50 years and moved to an upstate rural farm she and her late husband John Lennon bought together – 42 years after The Beatle was shot and killed outside their Manhattan apartment building.
The singer and activist, who turned 90 last week, made the decision to leave Manhattan and the exclusive Dakota Building she’s called home for five decades during the pandemic and to her sprawling 600-acre farm in the near Franklin, New York. which she and her husband bought in 1978.
Now can exclusively reveal that Yoko has decided to move to the rural property full-time – and it’s not believed she has any plans to return to the seventh floor, a nine-bedroom Upper West Side apartment that she once owned shared with John. murdered on the steps of the same star studded building they called home.
Although there’s no indication that Yoko is planning to sell her Manhattan apartment, the move marks a big change of pace for Lennon’s widow, who was once the toast of New York City but was forced to move out of it because of her withdraw from public life illness in recent years.
She was reported to require “24/7” medical care, and at a 2017 event she attended in a wheelchair, she said on stage, “I’ve learned so much through this illness.”
Yoko Ono has quietly given up life in New York City after 50 years and moved to an upstate rural farm that she and her late husband, John Lennon, bought together in 1978
The 90-year-old’s move comes 42 years after the Beatle was shot dead in the doorway of her famous apartment building, The Dakota (pictured), where Yoko has lived for 50 years
Yoko and John moved into the apartment building in 1973, which counts Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland and Leonard Bernstein among its famous residents
The singer and activist made the decision to leave Manhattan during the pandemic and move to her sprawling 600-acre farm near Franklin, New York (pictured).
Details of health issues were not shared by the family.
In recent years, Yoko has almost retired from public life, retiring behind the walls of her apartment in the famous Dakota building, which has hosted all sorts of high-profile residents over the years, including Lauren Bacall, Leonard Bernstein, and Judy Garland – and only a handful of public appearances.
Still, Yoko’s “new” home holds many memories of her marriage to John – with whom she bought the property in 1978 along with 100 Holsteins for $178,000.
Set on around 600 acres of land, it offers perfect security and privacy for the increasingly reclusive widow.
However, her decision to move to such a rural area has not affected her social life, quite the contrary.
Last week, to celebrate her 90th birthday, the singer hosted a gathering of her closest friends and family, including her son Sean and his girlfriend Charlotte, at her farm on February 18.
A guest, Yoko’s longtime friend and publicist Elliot Mintz, revealed on Instagram that the lunchtime event, which lasted all afternoon, featured lots of “singing and laughing” before concluding around 9pm.
Another source close to Yoko added that she was “in a really good mood and looking great,” but noted that she doesn’t attend any public events, nor is she involved in any activist campaigns, which have been her main concern since the 1960s.
Last week, Yoko held a celebration at the 600-acre property in honor of her 90th birthday — and one of the guests, her publicist Elliot Mintz, shared pictures in and around the property
Elliot’s pictures showed a glimpse of the property Yoko and John bought together in 1978, less than two years before the Beatle was killed
Yoko’s “new” home holds many memories of her marriage to John – with whom she bought the property along with 100 Holsteins for $178,000
Earlier this week, Mintz took to Instagram to offer a glimpse of the very private celebrations, sharing several pictures and videos from the exclusive get-together, while writing, “Had the honor to share Yoko Ono’s 90th birthday. I have known and loved Yoko for more than 50 years, in fact I have not known anyone longer and never will.
‘Sean Ono Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl ([Sean’s] partner for almost twenty years) invited me to an intimate family reunion.’
He added: “The room was filled with flowers, laughter, music, great food and loving sharing. The first thought I said to Yoko was “Happy Birthday”. The first thing she said to me was that I looked younger.”
Images shared by Mintz show a glimpse into Yoko’s outback hideout, capturing the vast expanse of land surrounding the estate as well as the modest wood-paneled interior of one of the barns on the estate.
Another photo shows the famous publicist posing next to a rusting vintage fire truck that appears to be stationed at the property.
Mintz, who turned 78 on February 16, told the Chron this week: “My only comment is that I’ve really enjoyed sharing our birthdays together.”
For the past several years, Yoko has rented out spaces in New York City restaurants for large birthday parties, and has even performed at fun celebrations attended by friends like singer Cyndi Lauper.
Yoko’s son Sean created a virtual ‘wishing tree’ to celebrate her 90th birthday, and Ringo Star, Elton John and her stepson Julian sent wishes to her website.
Peace activist Yoko, an avant-garde artist and performer, created a wishing tree installation in 1996 and has since tied around two million wishes to the branches of trees in 35 countries.
The seventh-floor apartment at The Dakota was one of several units the couple (seen in their apartment with their son Sean shortly after his birth in 1975) bought in the building
Although there’s no indication that Yoko is planning to sell her Manhattan apartment, the move marks a big change of pace for Lennon’s widow (pictured at her New York City home).
Yoko and John lived together in a nine-bedroom apartment in the exclusive Dakota building, which the activist (who was seen at her home in 1981) has called home since his death
In recent years, Yoko (seen at her apartment in 1981) has all but disappeared from public view amid ongoing health problems
Speaking of the touching gift for his mother, Sean said, “I wanted to give the world a chance to wish for her and plant a tree in her honor. Make a wish. Plant a tree, wish Yoko a happy birthday. As simple as that.’
Yoko has been increasingly withdrawn from public life in recent years – and in November 2020 it was revealed that she had handed over her business interests, mostly centered on managing Lennon’s $800 million fortune, to her son.
Sean, 47, has been appointed a director of eight companies linked to the family and the Beatles, including multimedia company Apple Corps, which reportedly had $36 million in assets as of 2019.
At this time, Sean is also said to have taken control of Lensolo, which manages John’s solo material, Maclen, which publishes John’s work in the United States, and Subafilms, a musical film company.
Yoko and Lennon married in 1969 and remained together until December 1980, when he was gunned down by Mark David Chapman outside their apartment building.
Chapman, who remains behind bars to this day, was 25 when he shot Lennon on the doorstep of the Dakota Building as the Beatle and his wife were returning home.
On the day of the murder, he famously went to the Dakota that afternoon and asked Lennon to sign an album for him.
The singer signed on and then got into his waiting limousine to drive to the recording studio.
However, when Lennon returned to the building with Yoko at around 10:30 p.m. that evening, Chapman was waiting for him.
Mintz, who served as spokesman and publicist for Yoko and Lennon for years, posted several pictures from the singer’s 90th birthday celebrations at the country estate
“The room was filled with flowers, laughter, music, great food and loving sharing,” Mintz revealed in his Instagram post
Another photo shows the famous publicist posing next to a rusting vintage fire truck that appears to be stationed at the property
The gunman shot Lennon four times in the back and shoulder in front of him – and the Beatle was pronounced dead at hospital an hour later.
When the police arrived to arrest Chapman, he was flipping through pages of The Catcher in the Rye.
Lennon’s killer later revealed his motives for the cold-blooded murder and told police he was furious at the immense fame the Beatle had amassed during his career.
In 2020, after being denied parole for the 11th time, Chapman issued a public apology to Yoko, saying he ponders the “despicable act” all the time.
During a parole hearing at the time, Chapman said he killed 40-year-old Lennon for “glory” and admitted he deserved the death penalty.
“I just want to reiterate that I’m sorry for my crime,” he said. “I have no excuse. This was for self-aggrandizement. I think doing something to someone who is innocent is the worst crime there can be.”
Ironically, Yoko and John chose their home at The Dakota because they wanted to move into a building that would offer them more privacy and security, photographer Bob Gruen told The New York Times in 2010.
For the most part, her life in the iconic building — which has a famously rigid board that has turned down a host of potential celebrity residents, including Madonna and Cher — has been quiet and peaceful.
However, the two met with bitter displeasure from their roommates when they began snapping other units in the building.
Yoko and Lennon married in 1969 and remained together until December 1980, when he was gunned down by Mark David Chapman outside their apartment building
The gunman shot Lennon four times in the back and shoulder in front of his wife – and the Beatle (whose body is being wheeled out of the building) was pronounced dead at hospital an hour later
In 2020, after being denied parole for the 11th time, Chapman (left in his 1980 mugshot and right in a 2022 mugshot) publicly apologized to Yoko and said he mulled over the “despicable act” all the time
According to Gruen, Yoko and John had two seventh-floor apartments that they used as their primary residence, but they also bought three other units: one for storage, one that became a studio for Yoko, and another that they used for guests .
“There was a bit of resentment against Yoko, more so because she kept trying to buy more homes,” Paul Goldberger, a fellow Dakota resident, told the New York Times.
“I think people didn’t dare get angry at John Lennon, so she bore the brunt of all the resentment.”
At the Dakota, John and Yoko raised their son Sean, who was born in 1975 – and it was also in the first year after moving into the building that the Beatle and his wife went through a difficult time.
The couple separated in the summer of 1973 — the same year they bought their first apartment in the building — and Lennon then began a relationship with his personal assistant, Mary Pang, a union he later claimed was owned by his wife was coordinated.
Lennon and Pang began an 18-month affair while the singer and guitarist settled into another New York City apartment on the Upper East Side — across the park from where Yoko lived.
The Beatle later disparagingly referred to this part of his life as his “lost weekend” (a reference to the 1945 film in which Ray Milland plays a writer struggling with alcoholism).
Yoko continued to keep in touch with her errant husband, but it wasn’t until they met backstage at an Elton John concert in November 1974 that they reconciled — and a year later, they welcomed son Sean.
Lennon announced he was retiring from the music industry while Yoko was pregnant with Sean, revealing he quit work to take care of his “beautiful boy” – and he became several during his son’s childhood Years of something like a house husband.