How many kids Richard Branson have? Family details explored as billionaire’s wife Joan dies at 80

Richard Branson is mourning the loss of his wife of five decades, Joan Templeman.

The prolific businessman, known for his connections to the Royal Family of Britain, took to Instagram on Tuesday, November 25, to announce that Templeman had died. He did not disclose her age or her exact cause of death.

Joan leaves behind her two children, Holly Branson, who is the Chief Purpose and Vision Officer on the Virgin leadership team, Chair of Virgin Unite, and Founder and Trustee of Big Change, and Sam Branson, a filmmaker. She is survived by three grandchildren, Artie and Etta, born to Holly, and Eva-Deia, born to Sam.

Richard Branson's letters of love to his longtime wife explored:

In his ode to his wife on Instagram, Richard Branson penned:

"Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away. 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"

Back in 2020, Richard Branson penned a post to his wife on the Virgin Blog in honor of the first time they met 44 years ago.

"I often make up my mind about someone within 30 seconds of meetings them, and I fell for Joan almost from the moment I saw her," he wrote at the time. "Joan is a down-to-earth Scottish lady and I quickly realised she wouldn’t be impressed by my usual antics."

He continued at another point,

"Far beyond record titles, I owe a lot to Joan. She’s my wife of 31 years, partner of 45 years, the mother of our two wonderful children and my constant rock. Joan has always been a steady source of wisdom and has played no small part in some of my better life decisions."

In concluding his post, he looked back on the life he shared with his wife and their family:

"If I cast my mind back to that day at The Manor 44 years ago, I never could have imagined what the next four and a half decades would bring, with a lifetime of love, wonderful children in Holly and Sam and our delightful grandchildren."

As of this writing, Holly and Sam Branson have yet to issue a statement about their mother's demise. Joan famously lived her life outside the spotlight, as confirmed by Richard Branson in another 206 blog post.

“From the beginning Joan was a very private person, and the over four decades we have been together she has remained so,” he wrote. “She has always been keen to avoid the public eye, to the point that she has never given an interview, however, that just changed when she did her first ever interview for an upcoming film about my ballooning adventures.”

Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback