Sir Richard Branson is mourning the loss of his wife, Joan Templeman, who passed away Tuesday at age 80 [[1]], [[2]], [[3]]. The couple, who married in 1989, were approaching their 50th wedding anniversary and shared two children, Sam and Holly [[3]]. Branson described Templeman as the bedrock of his family and a vital force throughout his entrepreneurial career.
- Richard Branson’s wife, Joan, has died.
- The entrepreneur is publicly mourning his partner.
- The couple was set to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary soon.
With a heavy heart, billionaire entrepreneur Richard Branson announced the passing of his wife, Joan, in an emotional Instagram post. “It’s with a broken heart that I must share that Joan, my wife and partner of 50 years, has passed away,” he wrote. Branson described Joan as his “everything” and the “most wonderful mother and grandmother our children and grandchildren could have wished for.”
Joan Templeman, who shared two children with Sir Richard Branson, was long considered the “rock” and the “source of wisdom” for the billionaire, according to the Daily Mail. The Virgin Group founder shared a touching photo on Monday, the day of her death, showing him kissing his wife’s head, accompanied by the simple yet poignant words: “Everyone needs a Joan in their life.”
Joan was reportedly in good health when she celebrated her 80th birthday this summer – a milestone Sir Richard marked with a heartfelt social media tribute. The pair had been eagerly anticipating their 50th wedding anniversary on February 7th. The news comes as a blow to fans who have followed the couple’s decades-long relationship, a rare example of enduring love in the public eye.
They Met in 1976
The couple first met in 1976 at “The Manor,” a live-in recording studio owned by Virgin Records, where Branson says he fell in love with her “at first sight.” He previously recounted being struck by the “beautiful, witty, down-to-earth” woman when she visited the studio in West London.
In a 2015 blog post celebrating her 70th birthday, Sir Richard wrote: “I fell in love with her the moment I saw her working in a second-hand shop in Westbourne Grove in London. A blonde, grounded, Scottish beauty who didn’t suffer fools gladly – Joan was unlike anyone I’d ever met. To win her heart, I had to hang around the shop persistently and buy countless items before we started dating…”
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