Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson has announced the sad news that his wife Melinda Ledbetter Wilson has passed away, aged 77.
Taking to Instagram on January 31, 2024, the singer-songwriter penned a beautiful tribute to Melinda, calling her his “saviour”.
“My heart is broken. Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning. Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost,” Brian wrote alongside two throwback pictures of Melinda.
“Melinda was more than my wife. She was my saviour. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music that was closest to my heart. She was my anchor. She was everything for us. Please say a prayer for her,” he continued.
Brian also included a beautiful message written by his and Melinda’s children on the post.
“It is with a heavy heart that we let everyone know that our mum, Melinda Kay Ledbetter Wilson passed away peacefully this morning at home. She was a force of nature and one of the strongest women you could come by. She was not only a model, our father’s saviour, and a mother, she was a woman empowered by her spirit with a mission to better everyone she touched,” it read.
“We will miss her but cherish everything she has taught us. How to take care of the person next to you without expecting anything in return, how to find beauty in the darkest of places, and how to live life as your truest self with honesty and pride. We love you mum. Give Grandma Rose and Pa our love.”
Brian and Melinda first began dating in 1986. And while they broke up in late 1989, they got back together in 1991.
Four years later, on February 6, 1995, the couple wed in California.
Shortly after getting married, Brian and Melinda adopted five children, Daria Rose, Delanie Rae, Dylan, Dash, and Dakota Rose.
