Richard Branson Recalls the Moment He Met His Late Wife, Joan: 'Fate Has a Strange Way of Working'

Sir Richard Branson is taking to social media to mourn the death of his wife, Joan Templeman, at the age of 80.

One day after announcing her death on Tuesday, Nov. 25, Branson, 75, shared a heartfelt tribute to his wife, who has been his life partner for 50 years. Branson opened the lengthy tribute to confirm that he's with their adult children, Holly, 44, and Sam, 40, as they "focus on all the good things Joan brought into our world," and then recalled the fateful moment he met his late wife.

"As many already know, I’d come off my bike in India and hurt my shoulder. Joan was recovering from her own back injury in hospital in England," he wrote. "In the way life sometimes surprises you, I found myself moved to a room just down the corridor from her. We laughed together about how typical it was of us to end up on the same floor, like love-struck teenagers delighted to find each other again."

The British businessman recollected the time they spent together, highlighting her smile, adding that it was "the same smile I fell in love with the very first moment I saw her, half a century ago." He then noted the "incredible" year they've had together, including celebrating her 80th birthday at Kasbah Tamadot in Morocco and their son Sam’s 40th birthday celebrations on board Virgin Voyages.

"To see her so happy in those last months is something we will treasure forever," wrote Branson. "Life will never be the same without her. But we have fifty incredible years of memories - years filled with tears and laughter, kindness, and a love that shaped our family more than words could ever capture."

The proud dad went on to pay tribute to their "remarkable kids" and grandchildren, "who adored her (and her sweets!)," and held Templeman up as "the shining star" that their family lovingly orbited.

"That light is not gone; it’s just taken on a new shape," he wrote toward the end. "It will guide us forward. And we will carry her with us, always."

The couple wed in 1989 on Necker Island in the Caribbean and went on to have three children together. Their first daughter, Clare Sarah, died at 4 days old after being born three months prematurely in 1979.