Sir Richard Branson’s wife, Joan Templeman, has died at age 80.
The British businessman, 75, announced his wife’s passing Tuesday on Instagram.
“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” Branson began his statement.
“She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for,” the Virgin Group founder continued. “She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.”
Branson concluded, “Love you forever, Joan x.”
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He did not reveal his wife’s cause of death.
The couple married in 1989 and welcomed three children together: Holly, Sam and the late Clare Sarah, who died at four days old in 1979.
Branson met his late wife at his Virgin Records shop.
In a 2020 blog post to mark 44 years since they met, Branson said that he “fell for Joan almost the from the moment I saw her.”
“Joan is a down-to-earth Scottish lady and I quickly realized she wouldn’t be impressed by my usual antics,” he wrote.
Branson added, “Far beyond record titles, I owe a lot to Joan. She’s my wife of 31 years, partner of 45 years, the mother of our two wonderful children and my constant rock. Joan has always been a steady source of wisdom and has played no small part in some of my better life decisions.”
Two years after they met, Branson bought Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands for Templeman. They got married there 11 years later.
Like their parents, Holly and Sam also had their respective weddings on Necker Island. Holly wed Freddie Andrews in Dec. 2011, while Sam tied the knot with Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe in March 2013.
In a 2016 blog post, Branson described his wife as “a very private person.”
“And over four decades we have been together she has remained so,” he stated. “She has always been keen to avoid the public eye.”
In 2019, Branson shared his tips for a happy marriage in an interview with Page Six.
“I think you have to work on it,” he said. “I think if you just sit back and wait for it to come it’s not necessarily going to happen. I think you’ve got to be willing to subtly chase somebody if you’re really interested.”
Before Templeman, Branson was married to Kristen Tomassi from 1972 to 1979. They didn’t have children together.
New York Post
