 In 58 , Nero became romantically involved with Poppaea Sabina , the wife of his friend and future emperor Otho . Reportedly because a marriage to Poppaea and a divorce from Octavia did not seem politically feasible with Agrippina alive , Nero ordered the murder of his mother in 59 . A number of modern historians find this an unlikely motive as Nero did not marry Poppaea until 62 . 
