Diksha Sundriyal
In Damian Chazelle’s 2018 biopic, ‘First Man,’ Neil Armstrong goes on a journey of a lifetime that tests him on all fronts. The film focuses on the decade leading up to the Apollo 11 mission that changed the course of history. While it had Armstrong’s name etched in history books, it also took a lot from him. While he excelled on the professional front, his personal life deteriorated and led to the clashes between him and his wife, Janet. The movie presents the strain on their marriage very realistically, but at the end of the day, they love and support each other, and the movie ends with them being reunited with Armstrong’s return. The same happened in real life, but the happy ending didn’t last forever.
Neil Armstrong and Janet Shearon Divorced After 38 Years of Marriage
Neil Armstrong and Janet Shearon met in 1953 at Purdue University. By 1956, they were married and started their lives together in their house in Juniper Hills. Soon, however, they moved to Houston, where Neil’s training with the NASA Space Program commenced. For the entire decade that Neil spent mostly away from home, Janet handled the situation at their home by herself. She was the rock of the family, described as the “real power behind the throne” by her son Mark. She and Neil went through a lot of things together, including the death of their two-year-old daughter, Janet, but in the end, it was Neil’s emotional unavailability that tore them apart for good.
On this day in 1956, Neil Armstrong married Janet Shearon. pic.twitter.com/tJbPbeslP5
— Armstrong Air & Space Museum (@ArmstrongSpace) January 28, 2017
The couple separated in 1990 and divorced in 1994. By the time they realized they couldn’t be together anymore, it had been about two decades since the Moon Landing. Their children had grown up and flown the coop, leaving Neil and Janet alone. But spending more time in each other’s vicinity only exacerbated their problems, with Neil becoming increasingly solitary and Janet finally becoming intolerant of his behaviour. It isn’t the pressure of raising their kids on her own and running the family by herself while Neil was away training that got to her. While she had to act as a single mother for a good part of her life, she knew that it came with the territory.
Other astronaut wives were also going through a similar thing. What really did it for Janet was Neil placing a distance between them when he should have opened up more emotionally. Their daughter’s death, especially, highlighted his habit of emotionally distancing himself. When Karen died, he threw himself into work, leaving Janet alone to deal with the other things. Further, the two-year-old died on their wedding anniversary, which was the last time they celebrated it. The issues in their marriage were exacerbated over time, with Janet finding it increasingly difficult to bring her husband out of his shell. According to her, “Silence is Neil Armstrong’s answer. The word ‘no’ is an argument. He is a very solitary man.” This, coupled with several other things, drove them apart, and their almost four-decade-long marriage ended in divorce.
Neil Armstrong's wife, Janet Elizabeth Shearon, and their two children watch him fly to the moon in 1969 🚀 pic.twitter.com/eAAD7XpamY
— Zion Lights (@ziontree) August 20, 2021
Despite their separation, Neil and Janet remained on cordial terms. Following the divorce, Janet reportedly had about $2.24 million worth of real estate and personal property. She also received monthly support supposal support of up to $6,000, in addition to an unspecified value of real estate. The whole process happened very quietly, and Neil and Janet asked the judge to seal the record temporarily. They knew that due to Neil’s standing as the first man on the moon, their marriage was prone to scrutiny. The divorce would be highly publicized if the media got a whiff of it, and they didn’t want anyone to nitpick their divorce to turn it into juicy news for people to be entertained with. The sealing of the records would make the whole affair entirely secret and devoid of any drama. Following the divorce, she moved to Utah, moving back and forth between Deer Valley and St. George.
Janet Shearon Died Months Before the Release of First Man
Janet Shearon died on June 21, 2018, at the age of 84, following a long and hard battle with lung cancer. She is survived by her two sons with Neil Armstrong and her several grandchildren. Shearon was aware of the making of ‘First Man’ and even met the film’s screenwriter. However, there was no meeting between her and Claire Foy, and the actress hoped that Shearon would like the film.
Born on March 23, 1934, in Wilmette, Illinois, Janet was the youngest daughter of Dr. Clarence and Louise Shearon. After graduating from New Trier High School, she attended Purdue University, where she pursued Home Economics. She was also a member of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority. After meeting Neil and marrying him, her life took a different turn. She never got to finish her degree, which remained a cause of great regret for her. However, this didn’t stop her from achieving all the things that she did.
Janet had been a part of the synchronized swimming team in her early years, and in 1964, she founded the El Lago Aquanauts synchronized swimming team, whom she also coached and took to victory in several tournaments. She also co-founded the KIT (Keep-In-Touch) group of astronaut wives, with whom she remained in touch for the rest of her days. She also received serval awards and honors for “her courage and dedication during the American space program of the 1960s.”
While Neil Armstrong might have taken all the glory, Janet also had a thing for flying planes. She told Jim Hansen, the author of Neil Armstrong’s official biography on which the film is based, that she always wanted to learn to fly a plane. Her mother and oldest sister could fly, but Janet’s turn to learn never arrived. She even thought about getting a pilot’s license as late as 1969, but her wish never came to pass. In her free time, Janet loved to be in nature and liked hiking and exploring. She is described as “a strong, warm, and willful woman” who was always there for her loved ones and was ready to do whatever it took to help them reach their potential.
Read More: First Man: Did Neil Armstrong Really Leave His Daughter’s Bracelet on the Moon?
