{"id":153260,"date":"2025-11-26T04:26:12","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:26:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/153260\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T04:26:12","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T04:26:12","slug":"who-was-richard-bransons-wife-all-about-the-late-joan-templeman-and-their-50-year-love-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/153260\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Was Richard Branson’s Wife? All About the Late Joan Templeman and Their 50-Year Love Story"},"content":{"rendered":"

NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n

Businessman Richard Branson married his wife, Joan Templeman, in 1989<\/p>\n

The couple welcomed three children together<\/p>\n

On Nov. 25, the Virgin Group founder announced on social media that Templeman had died<\/p>\n

Virgin tycoon Richard Branson<\/a> and his late wife, Joan Templeman<\/a>, were together for nearly 50 years before her death at 80 years old.<\/p>\n

The businessman met Templeman in 1976 and later reflected on the encounter in a 2020 blog post on Virgin.com<\/a>, writing, \u201cI fell for Joan almost from the moment I saw her.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Joan was a down-to-earth Scottish lady and I quickly realized she wouldn\u2019t be impressed by my usual antics,\u201d he continued in the blog post, which honored the 44 years since they first met.<\/p>\n

Branson and Templeman married in 1989 and went on to welcome three children together: Holly, Sam, and the late Clare Sarah, who died at 4-days-old after being born three months prematurely. The pair\u00a0enjoyed a steady home life together for years, up until he announced her death on Nov. 25.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,\u201d Branson wrote on Instagram<\/a>. “She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here’s everything to know about Richard Branson’s late wife, Joan Templeman.<\/p>\n

Templeman worked near Branson\u2019s recording studio\"PA<\/p>\n

PA Images\/Getty<\/p>\n

Richard Branson, Joan Templeman, and their kids Holly and Sam, after their wedding on the Caribbean island of Necker.<\/p>\n

The entrepreneur first met Templeman near The Manor, his former recording studio at Virgin Records.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe worked in an antiques shop called Dodo in Notting Hill, close to our Virgin office at Vernon Yard,” he said in his blog post. “One day, I hovered uncertainly outside the shop, then built up the courage to walk in. The shop sold old signs and advertisements, which I pretended to the shop owner, Liz, that I was fascinated by.”<\/p>\n

Branson continued, \u201cOver the next few weeks, my visits to Joan amassed me an impressive collection of old hand painted tin signs, which advertised anything from Hovis bread to Woodbine cigarettes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Branson bought Necker Island as a grand gesture for Templeman\"Dave<\/p>\n

Dave Hogan\/Hulton Archive\/Getty <\/p>\n

Richard Branson and Joan Templeman, circa 1985.<\/p>\n

Just two years after they had first met, the business tycoon put an offer in for Necker Island as a tribute to Templeman.<\/p>\n

\u201cUpon hearing about a beautiful island in the British Virgin Islands up for sale, I called the people selling it to enquire. 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!\u201d he wrote in his blog post.<\/p>\n

The realtor offered Branson a trip to see the island, and seeing it was the \u201csecond time I experienced love at first sight,” he said.<\/p>\n

Although his initial offer got rejected, Branson purchased the island for $180,000, and he still lives there currently.<\/p>\n

Their children both got married on Necker Island\"Jon<\/p>\n

Jon Furniss\/WireImage<\/p>\n

Richard Branson, Sam Branson, Joan Branson and Holly Branson.<\/p>\n

Eleven years after Branson purchased the island, he and Templeman wed on a beach there. Following in their parents\u2019 footsteps, both Holly and Sam married their respective spouses there as well.<\/p>\n

Holly and Freddie Andrews married in a sunset ceremony<\/a> that took place in December 2011, while Sam wed Isabella Anstruther-Gough-Calthorpe<\/a> in March 2013.<\/p>\n

Branson stopped a flight so he could see his wife\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Branson Instagram<\/p>\n

Richard Branson and Joan Templeman.<\/p>\n

In a romantic gesture that rivals every single romantic-comedy, Branson once halted a flight when he realized he didn\u2019t want to leave his wife behind.<\/p>\n

\u201c[We were] in Majorca [a few years ago] and I had to go on some sort of business thing and I left Joan behind in the airport,\u201d he told Page Six<\/a> during May 2019 interview. \u201cAs the plane was taxiing down the runway I suddenly thought, \u2018I\u2019ve got to stop this plane and go back and see her,\u2019 so I jumped up, I went to the front of the plane and said \u2018I\u2019m sorry, I\u2019ve got to get out off the plane,\u2019 and they did stop the plane. They did let me off.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think she was pleasantly shocked,\u201d he added, recalling that his fellow passengers applauded the grand gesture. \u201cYeah, it was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

She liked to stay out of the spotlight\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Branson Instagram<\/p>\n

Richard Branson.<\/p>\n

Branson previously said that his wife didn’t want to be in the public eye and avoided it as much as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the beginning Joan was a very private person, and the over four decades we have been together she has remained so,\u201d he wrote in a 2016 blog post<\/a>. \u201cShe 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<\/a> for an upcoming film about my ballooning adventures.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was nervous about Branson\u2019s voyage into space\"Axelle\/Bauer-Griffin\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n

Axelle\/Bauer-Griffin\/FilmMagic<\/p>\n

Richard Branson and Joan Templeman attend the ceremony honoring Sir Richard Branson with star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Oct. 16, 2018, in Hollywood, Calif.<\/p>\n

On July 11, 2021, Branson headed to space<\/a> on a Virgin Galactic<\/a> flight, a journey that had been in development for 17 years.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Reuters from Spaceport America prior to his voyage, Branson admitted that his wife had reservations<\/a> about her husband\u2019s visit to outer space.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife is the sort of person who would be terrified on a Virgin Atlantic aeroplane. She\u2019s the last person who would want to do something like this,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Branson announced her death in November 2025\"Richard<\/p>\n

Richard Branson Instagram<\/p>\n

Joan Templeman.<\/p>\n

On Nov. 25, Branson announced on Instagram that he was “heartbroken” to share that Templeman had “passed away.”<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for,” the businessman wrote of his wife. “Love you forever, Joan x.”<\/p>\n

Just one day earlier, Branson shared a throwback photo<\/a> of the couple, captioned, \u201cLove this photo of Joan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n