Sir Richard Branson’s wife Joan Templeman has died. She was 80 years old.
The Virgin Records founder announced the news of Lady Joan’s heartbreaking death in a statement shared on his Instagram on Tuesday.
“I am heartbroken to learn that my wife and partner of 50 years, Joanne, has passed away,” he wrote alongside an old photo of his late wife.
Branson, 75, called her the “best” mother and grandmother “you could ever ask for” to her children and grandchildren.
“She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world,” he said, adding, “I love you forever, Joan X.”
However, the cause of death was not disclosed.
The couple, who married in 1989, had three children, Holly, 44, Sam, 40, and Claire, who tragically died at four days old.
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 said, noting that she was having an affair with another man when they first met.
“I’ll literally be chasing them. I hope they eventually give in.”
At first, Joan wouldn’t tell her the time, but Branson persuaded her to travel to the island with him.
“I thought, ‘How can I convince her to come with me for the weekend?’…So I called my real estate agent…I pretended I wanted to buy an island[in the Virgin Islands]and he said, ‘Well, come on over. I’ll send you two tickets, I’ll find you a helicopter, and I’ll put you up in a house.’
“Then I called[Templeman]back and said, ‘I have a spare ticket, can I come off?'” And she did come down, and we found this beautiful island that we live on now. ”
During their trip, they flew in a helicopter over Necker Island, which eventually became their home.
He recalled thinking at the time, “Okay, she’s going to be the mother of my children. That’s where we’re going to live.”
Branson also recalled the moment he was overcome with love and had to stop his plane to meet his girlfriend.
“[We were]in Mallorca[a few years ago]and I had to go on some sort of business, so I left Joan at the airport,” he said at the time.
“As the plane was rolling down the runway, I suddenly thought, ‘I have to stop this plane and go back and see her.’ So I jumped up and went to the front of the plane and said, ‘Sorry, I have to get off the plane.’ And they did stop the plane and they let me off.”
Branson recalled hearing applause throughout the flight.
“I think she was in for a good shock,” he said, adding, “Yeah, it was good.”
