Culture
Richard Branson Reveals the Passing of His Wife Joan Templeman at 80: ‘My World’
Sir Richard Branson Mourns Wife Joan Templeman, His Partner of 50 Years
Sir Richard Branson took to Instagram on Nov. 25 to make the sad announcement that his wife and partner of 50 years, Joan Templeman, has died at 80. “Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” is what he said and also referred to her as “the most wonderful mum and grandmum our kids and grandkids could have ever wished for” and “my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world.” It was two days before this that he posted an old photo of the two of them with the words, “Love this photo of Joan.” The two got married in 1989 and had three children: Holly, 44; Sam, 40; and Clare Sarah, who passed away only four days after she was born three months prematurely.
Branson Says He Fell for Joan “Almost from the Moment I Saw Her”
“I am known to decide up to a large extent of my opinion of a person within a mere 30 seconds of meeting them, and I fell for Joan almost from the moment I saw her,” Sir Richard Branson wrote in a blog post published on Virgin.com in February 2020, reminiscing their first encounter. He remembered meeting his wife in the time she was serving in a London antique shop and commented on Joan’s grounded Scottish nature – “I very soon realised that she would not be getting any of my usual tricks from me.”
Branson was, at that point, only a couple of days into the building of his business empire.
Branson attributes Necker Island purchase to Joan — “It was the second time I experienced love at first sight”
Branson narrates that one of his wayward gestures to Joan was his purchase of Necker Island. “I remember the first time we met, after two years, I felt the need to show Joan a grand gesture of my love,” he posted on Virgin.com. “Pretty soon, Joan and I were flying over our new home. I believe it was the second time I had the experience of love at first sight.”
In his memory, he says he met Joan when she was working in a London antique shop and as he was going about his business empire, her being down-to-earth and her calm nature won her way to his heart very quickly.
Necker Island, Family Weddings, and a Life Apart from the Spotlight
One of the most romantic gestures in the world was the gift Joan received when Branson bought Necker Island for her. So the couple decided to get married there. After that, the children of the duo did the same, with Holly and Sam getting married at the island in December 2011 and March 2013, respectively.
Templeman, for the most part, chose to be out of the limelight. “Joan was, from the very start, a person who kept her life very much to herself, and during the more than forty years we have been together she has stayed like that,” Branson wrote in a blog post in 2015, pointing out that she was always very reluctant to be in the public eye.
