An unexpected event allowed Richard Branson to spend time with his partner Joan in her final hours, before she tragically died aged 80 following a stay in hospital
14:37 ET, 27 Nov 2025Updated 14:39 ET, 27 Nov 2025
Richard and Joan met in 1976(Image: John Salangsang/Invision/AP)
A twist of fate allowed Sir Richard Branson allowed him to be by his wife’s side when she died.
On Tuesday November 25 Branson announced that his beloved partner had died at age 80 following a stay in hospital due to a back injury. Later in a heartbreaking Instagram post, Richard, 75, explained in Joan’s final hours he was “right by her side.”
He also revealed that he fell off his bike during a charity event in India and was forced to go to the same hospital in England where Joan was being treated, which allowed him to spend precious time with her before she passed away.
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He said, “Fate has a strange way of working. As many already know, I’d come off my bike in India and hurt my shoulder. Joan was recovering from her own back injury in hospital in England. In the way life sometimes surprises you, I found myself moved to a room just down the corridor from her.
Richard was able to spend time with Joan after he had a cycling accident in India(Image: INSTAGRAM/richardbranson)
“We laughed together about how typical it was of us to end up on the same floor, like love-struck teenagers delighted to find each other again.”
The billionaire also told how the pair shared a “lovely lunch” and Joan was in “positive spirits,” before she died.
Richard said, “Then suddenly, she was gone, quickly and painlessly. And thankfully, I was right by her side. It brings us all great comfort to know we were together.”
The tycoon who runs a worldwide business empire valued at hundreds of millions of dollars, confessed that despite his wealth it was Joan who really grasped the worth of money, while he frequently splurged on “foolish purchases” and cutting-edge technology.
Richard announced Joan’s death in an Instagram post(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The billionaire posted an emotional tribute to Joan when he confirmed the sad news of her death. He wrote, “Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away.”
He added, “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. Love you forever Joan x.”
The pair met in 1976, and he shared on his blog in 2020 that he “fell for Joan” the moment he saw her. Richard said when he met his future wife, she was working in an antiques shop called Dodo in London’s Notting Hill suburb. He told how his first impression of Joan was that she was “a down-to-earth Scottish lady” who “wouldn’t be impressed by my usual antics.”
At the time Joan was married to her childhood sweetheart, Ronnie Leahy. She and Richard got together two years later after she and Ronnie divorced. The couple married on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands in 1989.
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