John Lydon breaks down over painful final moments with his late wife: "I loved her so much"

3 May 2024, 11:19

"I loved her so much."

The pain of losing your soulmate is immeasurable, the void of their absence becoming a daily struggle to contend with.

That's exactly the struggle that John Lydon is in the midst of after his beloved wife Nora Forster died on 6th April 2023 at the age of 80.

Nora was diagnosed with Alzheimer's five years before her passing, with John having to become her full-time primary caregiver.

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The Sex Pistols' former frontman married Nora in 1979, who was fourteen years her junior, having first met her at Vivienne Westwood's famed King's Road clothes shop Sex in 1975.

They stayed together from then onwards, which makes the loss that much more painful, given they were each other's rock throughout the turbulence of life.

During his recent debut show of the 45-date UK discussion tour titled 'I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right' at Brighton's Theatre Royal, John opened up about his life after Nora, and broke down in tears as he recalled their final moments together.

"The night she died...she started a death rattle, like the breathing. It is very, very strange and uncomfortable to be around. I knew then that it was finally coming," Lydon revealed.

"She held my hand and said 'Johnny'. Then in a heartbeat the ambulance arrived, in minutes. It was the most amazing thing (response) and they kept trying to resuscitate and revive her.Her heart would come back for a little bit and then it would stop again."

"And then the most painful question was 'Shall we stop now and let her rest in peace?' I was like 'No f*cking way'."

"If I ever had to go through this all over again I would still say the same. You have to fight for life til the very last breath because it is worth it."

"The agony, whatever, take it all. Don't give up on yourself or anybody else. I love my Nora," he added whilst trying to hold back his tears.

Throughout the evening's discussion, John also showed the audience a picture of Nora's urn which he keeps beside his bed every night.

"I keep it next to my bed," he admitted. "Forgive me, the flowers are plastic. There is a reason as real flowers rot and that is the saddest vibe in the world to see the flowers wilting. Plastic flowers go on forever."

"She loved colours but she is going to have to wait for my ashes to join her," he said tearfully.

Typically, the entire evening's subject matter wasn't just John's grief - there was plenty of focus on his life achievements and misgivings, delivered with his trademark acerbic humour.

Admitting that he'd been drinking a lot, John said he's grown 'moobs' (man-boobs) because of all the weight he's put on.

"I might as well be (a woman) after all the brandy and whiskey I drunk last year. I have actually got t*ts. My breasts are overflowing."

For tickets to John Lydon's UK tour 'I Could Be Wrong, I Could Be Right' via his official website www.johnlydon.com.