According to Consequence of Sound, Dr. Rachel Owen has passed away at the age of 48 after a battle with cancer. Owen has shaped the lives of many through music, art and her scholarly teachings. She is well-known as the former partner of Thom Yorke, band member of Radiohead. Along with receiving her Ph.D. in the illustrations of the early manuscripts of Dante’s Divine Comedy, she was an artist and Italian lecturer at Oxford. According to her obituary, she only recently stopped teaching. Owen’s art ranged from photography and printmaking while her more scholarly works were devoted toward Italian medieval literature. All the while, being a mother to her son Noah (15) and daughter, Agnes (12).

In the August of 2015, Owen and Yorke made an announcement about ending their relationship to the public. Yorke explained, “Rachel and I have separated, after 23 highly creative and happy years, for various reasons we have gone our separate ways. It’s perfectly amicable and has been common knowledge for some time.” Seemingly, the end of their relationship was peaceful. However, many fans still believe that their latest album A Moon Shaped Pool was a reflection solely dedicated to the twos relationship. The album had a very romantic theme incorporated in the various tracks. For instance, Yorke sings repeatedly in one of the tracks, “broken hearts make it rain.” While in other tracks he sings, “True love waits” and “I feel this love to the core.”

Photo Credit: Raymond Flotat