Joan Templeman: Everything We Know About Richard Branson’s Wife

Richard Branson is one of the world’s greatest entrepreneurs. The creator of the Virgin collection of companies, he’s been working in business since the 1970s, creating a global brand that has stood the test of time.

But did you know that he’s had the same wife by his side from a young age? His wife, Joan Templeman, has tended to shy away from the public eye, but there’s a romantic story behind their marriage.

So, let’s find out all about Joan Templeman and how she came to be married to one of the richest men in the world.

How Joan Templeman and Richard Branson Met

Joan Templeman was born in Glasgow but later moved down to London which is where she caught the eye of Richard Branson.

At the time, she was working in a bric-and-brac shop in Westbourne Grove in London – and that’s where Richard first met her.

The two would collide again at Virgin Records studio, a meeting that Richard wrote about in his autobiography, Losing My Virginity.

He said: “I experienced love at first sight upon meeting a blonde-haired, down to earth, Scottish beauty named Joan, who just happened to be making a cup of tea.

I generally make up my mind about someone within 30 seconds of meeting them, and Joan won my heart instantly. She was unlike any other woman I had ever met.”

(Image/ Source: virgin.com)

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Richard also describes how he would concoct ridiculous reasons to visit Joan at the store she worked at, including buying ridiculous vintage signs just to see her.

However, at the time, Joan was already married to her childhood sweetheart Ronnie Leahy. They married in 1966 and had been together for ten years by the time Joan met Richard.

Richard, too, was still in his own first marriage. He married Kristen Tomassi in 1972.

However, by 1979, both Joan and Richard had divorced – convenient, or did they really experience love at first sight?

A Tragedy

The two swiftly started a relationship with each other after Richard divorced his first wife Kristen. However, just in the first year of their relationship, they would have to endure heartbreak.

In 1979, their first daughter was born, Clare Sarah. However, she was born premature and tragically, she died after just four days.

Richard didn’t talk about his first child until 2009 when he revealed the incident in an interview. He revealed that it started when Joan had a suspected bout of appendicitis, which brought on early labour.

Richard admitted: “It was horrendous at the time and we went through three weeks of Joan being on all kinds of drips to stop the labour coming on, but it wasn’t to be. Any mother who has been through that will know how bad that was.

We were desperate that the baby would stay inside her for those extra couple of weeks to give it the strength to survive.”

(Image/ Source: virgin.com)

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However, the heartbreaking experience only made Richard and Joan Templeman’s relationship stronger. Ten years later, the couple married on Necker Island, Richard Branson’s Caribbean island.

There’s a story to Richard’s acquisition of Necker Island though, and it also has to do with Joan.

According to Richard, he was trying to find a way to impress Joan early on in their relationship, and thought that if he bought an island that would do it.

Apparently, this was successful (why wouldn’t it be!), and the two celebrated their wedding on the very same island years later.

Richard and Joan’s Children

Now, Richard and Joan Templeman have two children, Holly and Sam. They were born in 1981 and 1985, and were present at their parents’ Caribbean wedding in 1989.

But what are the children of a multi-millionaire doing today?

Well, Holly spent her childhood between London, Oxford, and the British Virgin Islands. Later, she attended University College London to study medicine and was a junior doctor at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital.

Now, though, she is part of her father’s business, as VP of Virgin. She is also the founder of Big Change, a charity supporting young people in the UK.

(Image/ Source: Instagram @richardbranson)

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Richard and Joan’s son Sam, on the other hand, has pursued a career in entertainment. He is an actor and producer who got his screen debut in Superman Returns in 2006.

He’s also an avid environmental activist and has been on expeditions in the Arctic. He also speaks about environmental issues on his Instagram.