Sir Richard Branson’s wife Joan dies aged 80

“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.”

For half a century, Joan Templeman was widely known as Branson’s anchor — a fiercely private woman who chose to stay away from the spotlight even as her husband built one of the world’s most recognizable business empires.

Just last week, Branson shared a tender photo of himself kissing Joan’s head with the caption: “Everyone needs a Joan in their life.”

A love story that began in a London shop

Branson has often described their relationship as love at first sight. He first met Joan in West London in the 1970s, where she worked in a small bric-a-brac shop, according to ITV.

He once recalled hovering around the store buying “countless objects” just for the chance to see her again.

Years later, he wrote that he had “fell for Joan almost from the moment I saw her” and quickly learned that the down-to-earth Scottish woman was not easily swayed by his usual charms.

They eventually married in 1989 on Necker Island, the Caribbean escape Branson famously bought as a romantic gesture when they were only a couple of years into dating.

“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 admitted.Continue reading…