Richard Branson said he is “heartbroken” following the death of his wife, Joan Templeman, paying an emotional tribute to the woman he described as the heart of their family.
Branson, 75, shared the news late Tuesday, writing that Templeman had passed away at the age of 80. While he did not disclose the cause, he noted in a blog post that she had recently been in a hospital in England recovering from a back injury.
Reflecting on their life together, Branson said they shared “fifty incredible years of memories,” filled with laughter, kindness and a bond that shaped everything around them. “It was a relationship that worked. We just had lots of laughs. We were very lucky,” he wrote.
The Virgin Group founder said the entire family, including their children Holly and Sam and their grandchildren, is devastated.
Branson and Templeman first met in London in 1976, a moment he has often described as love at first sight. They married in 1989 on Necker Island in the Caribbean, a place Branson bought in the late 1970s and the home they shared for decades.
Although married to one of the world’s most recognisable entrepreneurs, Templeman preferred a quiet life away from the spotlight. Branson often spoke of her as a grounded, warm and deeply private Scottish woman who rarely gave interviews.
Remembering her spirit, he said she lived “fully and joyfully, always thinking of others, always lifting everyone else up.”
