Sir Richard Branson’s wife, Joan Templeman, has died. She was 80.
The Virgin Records founder announced the heartbreaking news of Lady Joan’s passing in a statement shared on his Instagram today.
“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” he wrote alongside an old photo of his late wife.
Branson, 75, called her the “most wonderful” mother and grandmother to their children and grandkids that he could have “ever wished for.”
“She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world,” he said, adding, “Love you forever, Joan x.”
He, however, did not reveal the cause of death.
The couple, who tied the knot in 1989, welcomed three children: Holly, 44, Sam, 40, and Clare, who tragically died four days after being born.
Branson reflected on his beautiful relationship with Joan in an exclusive interview with Page Six in 2019.
“With my own wife, I was known as ‘Tagalong,’” he told us, noting that she was in a relationship with another man when they first met.
“I would end up literally chasing. Finally, hopefully, they’ll give in.”
While Joan initially wouldn’t give him the time of day, Branson said that he wooed her by convincing her to tour an island with her.
“I thought, ‘Well how could I persuade her to come away with me for the weekend?’…So I rang up an estate agent … I pretended I wanted to buy an island [in the Virgin Islands] and they said, ‘Well, come on down. We’ll send you two tickets, we’ll find a helicopter, we’ll lay on a house for you.’
“I then rang [Templeman] back and said, ‘I’ve got a spare ticket, would you like to come down?’ and so she did come down and we found this beautiful island where we live now.”
During the trip, they flew in a helicopter over Necker Island, which ultimately became their home.
He recalled thinking to himself at the time, “Alright, she’s going to be the mother of my kids. That’s where we’re going to live.”
Branson also recalled the moment he was so overcome by love that he had to stop a plane to see her.
“[We were] in Majorca [a few years ago] and I had to go on some sort of business thing and I left Joan behind in the airport,” he said at the time.
“As the plane was taxiing down the runway I suddenly thought, ‘I’ve got to stop this plane and go back and see her,’ so I jumped up, I went to the front of the plane and said ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to get out off the plane,’ and they did stop the plane. They did let me off.”
Branson recalled the entire flight breaking out into applause.
“I think she was pleasantly shocked,” he said, adding, “Yeah, it was good.”
This story originally appeared on Page Six and is republished here with permission.
