Who was Joan Branson, Richard Branson’s wife, who passed away?

Virgin Group founder Richard Branson has announced the passing of his wife, Joan Branson, just hours after he had shared a sweet photo of her on Instagram. The 75-year-old entrepreneur confirmed that Joan, his partner for nearly five decades, died at the age of 80. The family has not shared the cause of her death.

A day before the announcement, Branson had posted a warm, affectionate picture of the two of them with the caption, “Love this photo of Joan.” By the next afternoon, the mood had turned heartbreakingly different.

“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,”  the Virgin Galactic owner wrote. “She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for. She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.”

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Richard and Joan’s relationship has long been seen as one of the most enduring love stories. As Branson grieves the loss of his wife of 50 years, here’s a closer look at her life

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Who was Joan Branson?

Joan Branson, then Joan Templeman, was born in Glasgow in 1945 and raised in a modest, working-class family. Before crossing paths with Richard Branson in 1976, she held a series of different jobs, living a life far removed from the world of global business and celebrity.

The two married years later on Necker Island in 1989. Together, they built a family with their children, Holly and Sam, and later welcomed five grandchildren.

Even as Branson became one of the world’s most recognisable entrepreneurs, Joan stayed firmly out of the spotlight. She preferred privacy and rarely appeared in public alongside him.

“From the beginning Joan was a very private person, and the over four decades we have been together she has remained so,” Branson wrote in a 2016 blog post. “She has always been keen to avoid the public eye, to the point that she has never given an interview, however, that just changed when she did her first ever interview for an upcoming film about my ballooning adventures.”

A look at their love story 

Richard Branson and Joan Templeman’s relationship began back in 1976, when the young record label owner spotted her at a small bric-a-brac shop in London’s Westbourne Grove, close to his Virgin Records studio. Joan, who was married to musician Ronnie Leahy at the time, immediately caught his eye.

“One day, I hovered uncertainly outside the shop, then built up the courage to walk in,” Branson had written in a blog post. The shop sold old signs and quirky vintage items, and he pretended to browse while quietly trying to get Joan’s attention.

“A blonde-haired, down-to-earth Scottish beauty who didn’t suffer fools, Joan was unlike any other woman I had ever met,” he wrote. He also realised very quickly that his usual charm wouldn’t work on her. “I quickly realised she wouldn’t be impressed by my usual antics.”

So, he kept showing up at the shop, buying item after item, just for a chance to talk to her. “To win her heart, I had to persistently hang around the shop and buy countless objects before we started courting,” he said.

Branson bought an island for Joan

Not long after they first met, Richard Branson decided to make a grand gesture for Joan.

He revealed in his blog that he had heard about Necker Island being up for sale in the British Virgin Islands and immediately picked up the phone. “We were still in the early days of Virgin Records and I definitely did not have the cash to buy it – but try telling that to a fool in love!” he wrote.

The realtor invited him to visit the island, and the moment he arrived, Branson said it felt like “love at first sight” for the second time in his life.

His first offer was rejected, but eventually he bought Necker Island for $180,000, a place he still calls home today.

Eleven years after purchasing it, Branson and Joan married on its beach. Both their children, Holly and Sam, later chose the island for their own weddings as well. Holly married Freddie Andrews in a sunset ceremony in December 2011, while Sam married Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe in March 2013.

Joan was ‘terrified’ about his space trip

On July  11 2021, Branson travelled to space on a Virgin Galactic flight.

Before take-off, he told Reuters that Joan was extremely anxious about the idea of her husband going into space. “My wife is the sort of person who would be terrified on a Virgin Atlantic aeroplane. She’s the last person who would want to do something like this,” he said.

Despite her fears, Joan continued to support him in all his ventures.

On her 80th birthday in July, Branson shared a heartfelt message thanking her for standing by him “through it all – the highs, the lows, and all those quiet, content and peaceful moments in between… I love you more and more each year.”

With input from agencies