Very few people can claim to know nothing or two about Stephen Hawking. The man passed away earlier in 2018 and the world mourned the death of the great scientist whose insight helped our understanding of the world through different spheres of life, from religion to art and of course, the cosmos. He was a distinctly unique man who was diagnosed with a motor neuron disease called ALS at the age of 21. The disease was supposed to kill him within two years, but he lived on until he was 76. Alongside him on his journey through greatness is Elaine Mason, his nurse who grew close to him while tending to his needs.
Elaine Mason is best known as the wife of the renowned scientist, but there’s plenty more to discover about her life. Read below to learn more about the former nurse.
Who is Elaine Mason, Stephen Hawking’s ex-wife?
A brief look at Elaine Mason reveals that she is an impressive woman in her own right. Born August 20, 1951 in England, she was born and raised in a Christian family. Details about his family and educational background are currently unknown.
However, her interest in claiming came from her career as a nurse caring for Stephen Hawking and it was a career that began in Bangladesh, where she worked as a nurse in an orphanage. She spent four years in Bangladesh providing health services to poor children before returning home to England where she continued to work as a nurse.
Before meeting Hawking, she was married to DavidMason, an engineer who was a huge fan of Stephen Hawking and helped design the great scientist’s iconic voice synthesizer. In a twist of fate, David Mason introduced his wife to the man who would influence the end of her marriage.
In the 1980s, David Mason introduced his wife, Elaine Mason to Stephen Hawking to be part of his team of personal caregivers. At the time, both parties were married. With Hawking married to his first wife, Jane Wilde. Their marriage lasted 30 years with three children while Elaine lasted 15 years with David Mason and two children before the two parties left their respective marriages.
Elaine Mason married Stephen Hawking in September 1995. The marriage lasted eleven years before the couple were granted a low-key divorce in 2006, rumor being that Hawking had cheated on Mason with one of his carers, although the rumor was strongly denied.
Both before and after Stephen Hawking’s death, Elaine Mason was accused of physically and emotionally abusing Stephen during their marriage, with several people accusing Mason of control and manipulation.
Official police inquiries were made after it was discovered that Hawking had unexplainable cuts and bruises. After the investigation, however, the police were unable to find sufficient evidence to charge Mason with a crime.
One of the charges against ElaineMason was that she married Hawkings for his money. At the time of his death, the man was worth $20 million. Naturally, she also denied the allegations. Currently, it is unknown if Hawking had a will before his death and if Mason is named in it. However, the couple both owned a home in Newnham, Cambridgeshire.
Where is now?
In Stephen Hawking’s first marriage he and his wife employed carers to care for him and one imagines the story was the same for his second marriage which in turn freed Elaine Mason from being his carer but a nurse who pursued its own interests.
One such interest happens to be in the insurance industry where she built a career, becoming Managing Director of Belvedere Mead Limited. She has experience in a range of insurance and reinsurance businesses. Elaine Mason is said to have managed a portfolio scale of over $500 million during her career as an insurance agent.
With Stephen returning to rekindle his relationship with his first wife and children following his divorce from Elaine Mason, she has continued to stay away from the public eye.