Paul McCartney and John Lennon were close friends and collaborators in the early days of The Beatles. By the time the band broke up, however, their relationship was beyond strained. They could hardly have a conversation without devolving into shouting. Their relationship has inspired books, movies, and online speculation that they were romantically involved. 

Some Beatles fans believe John Lennon and Paul McCartney were in love

Fans of books, movies, television shows, and even real celebrities often “ship” people or characters together, which is to say they believe in or wish for a romantic relationship between them. Given McCartney and Lennon’s close relationship and level of fame, it’s hardly surprising that a small subset of Beatles fans do the same.

Ian Leslie, the author of the book John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs, views the relationship as romantic.

“My feeling about their relationship has always been that it was remarkably intense and close and complex,” Leslie told The New York Post. “What it seems to be most like is a romance … in the sense that it was, you know, tempestuous and jealousy-ridden and loving and tender as well. It’s a love story.”

Fans on social media have dubbed the relationship “McLennon” and share videos and images of the pair. Some point to letters between the two as evidence, or on the record stories, like McCartney’s recollection of a group masturbation session with Lennon.

Unfortunately for any fans of the relationship, however, McCartney has explicitly denied anything romantic or sexual happening between himself and Lennon.

“I don’t think [the gay claims] are true,” he said, per NME. “John never ever tried anything [on with me], I slept with him a million times. I’ve seen him on tour roaring drunk, out of his mind in the early days before he sobered up and went to rehab. Roaring drunk and it was always with a female, never once [with a man].”

A Beatles associate believed John Lennon saw Paul McCartney as a soulmate

Ultimately, there is no proof of a romantic relationship between Lennon and McCartney. Still, they were quite close, with some who knew them describing them as soul mates. Hunter Davies, the band’s biographer, said this side of their relationship faded away when Lennon met Yoko Ono.

“He was away on a new plane, realizing at once that Paul, who until then had been his buddy, his soul mate, was in many ways as conventional as Cynthia,” Davies wrote in the book The Beatles. “Together, John and Yoko discovered new and all-consuming aims. The rest of the Beatles didn’t matter any more. When Paul came up with an idea for, say, a live TV show, John wasn’t really interested.”

The ‘In My Life’ writer admitted to having a close relationship with Brian Epstein

Lennon also had a close relationship with Brian Epstein, the manager of The Beatles. Epstein was a gay man, and rumors have flown for years that Lennon had an affair with him.

“It was almost a love affair, but not quite,” he said, per Slate. “It was not consummated. But it was a pretty intense relationship.”

At a party, Bob Wooler, a DJ, brought up the rumored affair and Lennon responded by nearly killing him.

“John, in a mad rage and obviously very drunk, was pummeling Bob Wooler,” wrote Peter Brown and Steven Gaines in The Love You Make. “It took three men to pull John off, but not before he managed to break three of Wooler’s ribs and send him to the hospital.”

McCartney has said he believed Lennon got close with Epstein in order to gain more control over The Beatles.