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WHILE SPEAKING AT the Henley Literary Festival, 74-year-old Jane Hawking discussed her memoir ‘Travelling to Infinity’, which was used as a source for the 2014 movie The Theory of Everything. 

Hawking said that she had made some requests that the producers completely ignored, so she wasn’t too happy with the end result, and warned listeners not to “ever believe what you see in films.” 

I knew if there were mistakes in the film that they were going to be immortalised, which they have been. 

Stephen and Jane Hawking alongside their children Lucy and Timothy. Empics Entertainment Empics Entertainment

Jane believes that the film ‘misrepresented’ her 30-year-long relationship with Stephen, as it only showed a part of their lives together in Cambridge, while glossing over the logistical issues that arose because of Stephen’s condition.  

Our many foreign travels were ignored altogether – for example, our honeymoon was spent at a physics conference at Cornell University in upstate New York. I’m sorry to say that none of these extensive travels – with all the organising, packing for a family with a severely disabled member, transporting them, driving them, as well as the usual day-to-day care – really appears in The Theory of Everything. 

Jane said that she had specifically asked for this to be included in the film, if even just through a “frenzied fast-forward version, even simply getting all the suitcases, wheelchair and passengers in the car” to represent that aspect of their lives together, but this was refused due to “time constraints.” 

When The Theory of Everything was first released, critics said that the film did Jane Hawking ‘a disservice’, and did not accurately represent the role Jane played in Stephen’s life, not only while caring for him, but in helping him to further his work.

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