""Heartbroken to share that Joan, my wife and partner for 50 years, has passed away," Branson, 75, wrote in a statement posted to Instagram. "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." No cause of death has been disclosed."
"Branson has written extensively about their early courtship, recalling how he "fell for Joan almost from the moment I saw her." "Joan was a down-to-earth Scottish lady and I quickly realised she wouldn't be impressed by my usual antics," Branson wrote in a blog post on the Virgin website. To win her attention, he "persistently hang around the shop and buy countless objects" before they began dating."
Joan Templeman, aged 80, has died. Sir Richard Branson described her as his best friend, his rock, his guiding light and his world, and said he loved her forever. No cause of death has been disclosed. Branson recently shared photographs of himself with Templeman and marked her 80th birthday with a tribute thanking her for standing by his side "through the highs, the lows, and all those quiet, content and peaceful moments in between." The couple met in 1976 when Branson spotted Templeman working at a bric-a-brac shop in London's Westbourne Grove. Their relationship included persistent courtship and memorable romantic gestures.
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