Richard Branson has released a heartbreaking statement announcing the passing of his wife, Joan, the woman he called his partner and the center of his world for fifty years.
The 75-year-old entrepreneur confirmed the news today (November 25).
Joan’s passing came as a shock to those familiar with the couple’s public milestones. She had recently turned 80, and Branson had described her as healthy and radiant.
Only yesterday, he posted a photo of them together with the caption: “love this photo of Joan.”
Now, in hindsight, fans believe that photo more than a celebration of her life. It was a goodbye.
Richard Branson announced the passing of his wife, Joan, with a heartbreaking statement
Image credits: Getty/Michael Tran
“Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away,” he wrote.
“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.”
Image credits: Richard Branson
For a family that has lived half of its life in the spotlight and the other half in private, the announcement shattered the image of stability Branson had shared just months earlier, when Joan celebrated her 80th birthday.
Image credits: Richard Branson
“Thank you for being by my side through it all – the highs, the lows, and all those quiet, content and peaceful moments in between,” he wrote at the time.
“These are the moments I cherish most with you, I love you more and more each year.”
The couple met in 1976. Richard fell in love instantly, but Joan was married to another man
Image credits: Richard Branson
Their story began nearly half a century ago.
In his statement, Branson said he fell in love from the first moment he saw her in 1976 at his Virgin Records studio, calling her “unlike any woman I had ever met.”
Image credits: Getty Images
At the time, she had no connection to his business. She worked in a London bric-a-brac shop, which Branson admitted he visited obsessively.
He once wrote that he had to persistently hang around the shop and buy countless objects, including an old advertising sign, before she agreed to date him.
Image credits: Getty/Julian Parker
Before their relationship began, Joan had married her childhood sweetheart Ronnie Leahy in 1966. The marriage ended in 1978. A decade later, in 1989, she and Branson married on his private Necker Island in the Caribbean Sea.
They went on to build a family that included their daughter Holly, now 44, and their son Sam, 40.
They also suffered profound loss. A second daughter passed away only four days after being born.
Branson expressed his love and admiration for Joan repeatedly throughout the years
Image credits: Getty/Chris Jackson
Throughout the years, Branson has written about his wife with a level of tenderness that surprised people who only knew him for his business acumen.
For instance, in 2016, on their 40th wedding anniversary, he shared a love letter reminiscing the moment they met.
Image credits: Richard Branson
In the letter, he described meeting “a blonde-haired, down to earth, Scottish beauty named Joan, who just happened to be making a cup of tea.”
He added, “I generally make up my mind about someone within 30 seconds of meeting them, and Joan won my heart instantly.”
He called her beautiful, bright, witty, fun, and said she had “eyes made of magic.”
Despite being married to one of the world’s most recognizable entrepreneurs, Joan remained a private figure. Branson acknowledged this openly, writing that she had “always stood by me mentally, emotionally and spiritually,” even while choosing to live far from the attention that surrounded his empire.
No information has been released regarding the cause of her passing.
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