Originally Posted by
Bookman
His first wife, Jane, was (is) a believer. That contributed in part to their breakup. There was more, of course, but it was a part.
From Wikipedia: By the 1980s, Hawking's marriage had been strained for many years. Jane felt overwhelmed by the intrusion into their family life of the required nurses and assistants. The impact of his celebrity was challenging for colleagues and family members, while the prospect of living up to a worldwide fairytale image was daunting for the couple. Hawking's views of religion also contrasted with her strong Christian faith and resulted in tension.
....The power of Hawking's celebrity was measured at times by the tabloid coverage he drew for his complicated personal life. His wife Jane spent hours every day bathing, washing and feeding Hawking, who required constant nursing care. He developed pneumonia in 1985 on a trip to Geneva, and Jane battled doctors who wanted to turn off his life support.
But the marriage grew strained, in part because of her Christian faith and his adamant atheism, and in part because of what she called his remote and stoic temperament. She described him as an "all-powerful emperor" who seemed blind to how demanding his illness became for her as she also took care of their young children. He refused measures that would have made life easier for her, and she felt it was "too cruel" to coerce him to see it her way.
They grew apart and, in 1990, just shy of their 25th wedding anniversary, separated when Hawking left Jane for his nurse, Elaine Mason. He married Elaine five years later after his divorce from Jane became final.....
Stephen Hawking, physicist who came to symbolize the power of the human mind, dies at 76
https://www.denverpost.com/2018/03/1...-hawking-dead/