Richard Branson Has Been Married for 30 Years — These Are His Secrets to a Lasting Romance

Stacey Leasca

Richard Branson is a man who knows a thing or two about success. He’s launched more than his fair share of lucrative businesses including Virgin Records, Virgin Atlantic, and now Virgin Trains and Virgin Voyages. But, perhaps his biggest success has been finding everlasting love with his wife of 30 years, Joan Templeman. Luckily for everyone, he’s sharing the secrets to winning in that arena too.

“I think you have to work on it,” Branson shared with Page Six about long-term love at an event celebrating the launch of Virgin Hotels San Francisco. “I think if you just sit back and wait for it to come it’s not necessarily going to happen. I think you’ve got to be willing to subtly chase somebody if you’re really interested.”

Richard Branson and his wife, Joan Templeman, with their children, Holly and Sam, after their wedding on the Caribbean island of Necker. | PA Images/Getty Images
Richard Branson and his wife, Joan Templeman, with their children, Holly and Sam, after their wedding on the Caribbean island of Necker. | PA Images/Getty Images

According to Branson, the key to winning over his bride — who happened to be in a relationship when the duo first met — was staying consistent. And, planning a getaway for the two of them didn’t hurt either.

“I thought, ‘Well how could I persuade her to come away with me for the weekend?’…So I rang up an estate agent … I pretended I wanted to buy an island [in the Virgin Islands] and they said, ‘Well come on down. We’ll send you two tickets, we’ll find a helicopter, we’ll lay on a house for you,’” Branson revealed.

So, he called Templeton, offered her the second ticket, and the pair flew off to the island. Which, of course as any Branson fan would guess, is now known as Necker Island.

And all these years later, Branson said he continues with his romantic gestures just to ensure his wife knows how much she means to him.

“[We were] in Majorca [a few years ago] and I had to go on some sort of business thing and I left Joan behind in the airport,” he told Page Six. “As the plane was taxiing down the runway I suddenly thought, ‘I’ve got to stop this plane and go back and see her,’ so I jumped up, I went to the front of the plane and said ‘I’m sorry, I’ve got to get out off the plane,’ and they did stop the plane. They did let me off.”

So, long story short, if you’re looking to score true love too all you need to do is buy an island and have the ability to stop a flight in its tracks. Should be easy, right?