Joan Templeman is the wife of the well-known British business magnate Richard Branson. Branson is known in the UK for founding the Virgin Groups of Companies, which consists of the popular Virgin Atlantic Airlines.
He has been married twice in his life; his first marriage was to Kristen Tomassi in 1972, the marriage lasted until 1979, and ten years later he married his second wife, Joan Templeman; an ordinary lady he met in 1976. Here is the story of how they met and how their love story was born and has stood the test of time.
Joan Templeman Biography
Joan Templeman was born sometime in 1948 in Glasgow, Scotland (her diet and month of birth are not known). She is one of the seven children of her father, who worked as a ship carpenter. Although her family did not lack much because her father was wealthy, she expressed her independence at an early age by taking numerous jobs to take care of most of her financial needs; among these jobs was working as a nude model.
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Before settling down as the wife of the business mogul, Joan Templeman was first married to Ronnie Leahy – a member of a band that performed under the name “Nazareth”. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1966 after 12 years of marriage.
How Did Joan Templeman And Richard Branson Meet?
Their meeting was a stroke of fate, it happened at a time when both parties were in marital chaos. The couple met for the first time at Virgin Records Studio. Joan, who was on duty in the studio, was busy making tea when Richard saw her and fell hopelessly in love with her. Joan Templeman was not at all fascinated by the many gestures the multimillionaire showed her as proof of his love for her.
In his autobiography “Losing My Virginity” Branson explained that he had worked so hard to get Joan’s attention and that he had finally courted her to accept his love attempts and his marriage proposal. After a long time, she finally noticed him and accepted him. Joan later confessed that it was actually Richard’s modest and pleasant personality that attracted her to him. In 1978 he left her husband to be with Richard.
After the divorce from Ronnie, Joan Templeman and Richard Branson moved to a neighborhood in London. There she gave birth to her first child. However, the child died a few days later. They named her Clare Sarah Branson. The incident was not so easy for her to bear. Although it strengthened her relationship with Richard.
Three years later Joan became pregnant by Richard and gave birth to his second daughter, who was named Holly. After another 3 years Sam, her first and only son, entered the family picture.
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Joan and Richard were finally married on December 20, 1989, on Necker Island, after 12 years of being together. They have remained married until today; over four decades. According to Richard, Joan Templeman is and will remain the secret behind his success as a family man and businessman in their more than 40 years together.
He added that she has been very understanding and has never valued the kind of image he presents to the public and has never been influenced by his flirtatious manner, which she simply dismissed as “typical”.
Like her husband, the seventy-year-old is a very private person. She enjoys the company of her family and reading. Joan Templeman is a proud grandmother with three adorable grandchildren (Eva-Deia, Etta, and Artie). She enjoys spending time with them during vacations.
Net Worth
Joan Templeman’s net worth is only a reflection of the accumulated wealth of her husband. The business investor is worth $5.1 billion, making him the sixth wealthiest man in the UK. In 2007, the business mogul appeared in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.
Other Facts
In 2017 their vacation resort Necker Island was hit by hurricane Irma and made uninhabitable.
It was the second time that the Necker Island Resort was badly damaged.
Also in 2011 it was hit by lightning caused by hurricane Irene and caught fire.
