British billionaire Richard Branson has announced the death of his wife Joan Templeman, aged 80, on his social media. "With a broken heart, I share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away," wrote the owner of the Virgin group of companies on Tuesday, November 25.
"She was the most wonderful mother and grandmother our children and grandchildren could ever have wished for. She was my best friend, my rock, my guiding light, my world. I love you forever, Joan x," concludes the emotional post.
The couple met in 1976, but did not marry until 1989. They had three children, although one of them died a few days after birth.
Branson has not disclosed the cause of his wife's death, but in recent days, he had shared two photographs of her. The first one a week ago accompanied by the comment "Everyone needs a Joan in their life."
And the day before announcing Joan Templeman's death, he posted another picture on Instagram of the two - "I adore this photo Joan" - in which Richard is seen with his arm raised.
"I usually form an opinion about someone in the first 30 seconds after meeting them, and it was love at first sight with Joan as soon as I saw her," he recounted in 2020, as reported by Afp.
Joan, who was working in an antique shop at the time, was "a down-to-earth Scotswoman, and I quickly realized she wouldn't be impressed by my usual antics," explained Richard Branson, who long cultivated a daredevil image.
Richard Branson, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, began his fortune by founding a mail-order record business in 1970.
In addition to his colossal fortune, he is known for his eccentricity and adventures. He was the first, alongside Swedish aeronaut Pers Lindstrand, to cross the Atlantic Ocean by balloon in 1987, and then the Pacific Ocean four years later.
In 2021, he experienced "one of the most extraordinary days" by floating at 86 km altitude for a few minutes aboard the VSS Unity, the spacecraft of Virgin Galactic, his space tourism company.