Jane Benyo is best known publicly as the first wife of Tom Petty, but that label only explains why her name still appears. It does not explain why people remain interested in her decades after the marriage ended. Part of the answer is timing. Benyo was part of Petty’s life before he became the fully established rock figure most people remember. She belonged to the difficult early years, when ambition, money stress, touring, and emotional instability could all hit at once.