Sir Richard Branson has offered a deeply personal glimpse inside his five-decade love story with his wife, Joan Templeman, as he announced her death at the age of 80.
The Virgin founder revealed the news in an emotional statement shared online on Tuesday, paying tribute to the woman who had been the quiet centre of his world since the 1970s — long before the billion-dollar empire, the balloon flights or the space launches.
Sir Richard described Joan as his “best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world”, marking the end of a partnership that began in a tiny Westbourne Grove bric-a-brac shop and grew into one of the most enduring relationships in British public life.
The couple’s romance would come to shape every corner of his life.
“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” he wrote. “She was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for… Love you forever, Joan x.”
Joan remained a largely private presence throughout Sir Richard’s high-profile career – a steadying force behind the entrepreneur.
Born in Glasgow in 1945, she worked a series of jobs, including running an antique shop, before a chance encounter with Sir Richard changed both their lives.
The couple first crossed paths at a shop in London where Joan worked and Sir Richard’s world shifted instantly, though she was rather less impressed.
He later admitted he “fell in love” with Joan the moment he spotted her.
He began turning up to the bric-a-brac shop regularly, buying things he didn’t need simply for the chance to speak to her.
“She was unlike any other woman I had ever met,” he wrote in a blog post. “She was beautiful. She was bright. She was witty. She was down to earth. She was fun. And she had eyes made of magic.”
To win her over, he regularly visited the shop, buying up tin signs and vintage posters he didn’t need simply for an excuse to speak to her.
The persistence paid off: the pair married in 1989 on Necker Island, the Caribbean home Sir Richard had purchased in the early years of their courtship.
Their relationship, however charmed from the outside, had also weathered profound loss. Their first child, Clare Sarah, died four days after being born prematurely in 1979.
They went on to raise two children, Holly and Sam, now parents themselves to five of the couple’s grandchildren.
Even in her later years, Joan remained the centre of the family.
Sir Richard frequently credited her with keeping him grounded, including in a post just days before her death in which he shared a photograph of himself kissing her head.
Tributes have poured in since the announcement.
TV presenter Andrea Minski wrote: “I’m so sorry my friend… I really loved your wife. Every year at Necker she shared the best mum advice with me… sending you all my love and strength.”
Spanx founder Sara Blakely added: “Heartbroken… She is the best. So glad you had each other for so long.”
In July, Branson celebrated Joan’s milestone 80th birthday with a message expressing how much their life together meant to him.
“Thank you for being by my side through it all – the highs, the lows, and all those quiet, content and peaceful moments in between,” he wrote. “I love you more and more each year.”
Sir Richard also shared a poignant final photograph with his wife Joan just days before her death.
The Virgin founder posted the image on Instagram on November 15, showing the couple dressed for an evening out, champagne in hand.
In the image, Sir Richard kissed his wife on the head and captioned the post: “Everyone needs a Joan in their life.”
