Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson mourns the loss of his wife Melinda Ledbetter: “She was my savior”

June 30, 2024

Melinda Ledbetter, the wife of Beach Boys singer Brian Wilson, has died. She was 77 years old.

Wilson shared the news of his wife’s death in an emotional Instagram post on Tuesday. “My heart is broken. Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning,” Wilson wrote alongside a photo of Ledbetter. “Our five children and I are in tears. We are lost.”

HOLLYWOOD - FEBRUARY 11: Musician Brian Wilson and his wife Melinda arrive at the MusiCares 2005 Person of the Year Tribute to Brian Wilson at the Palladium on February 11, 2005 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Wilson;Melinda Wilson ORG XMIT: 52164434 GTY ID: 52164434KW009_MusiCares_200 — HOLLYWOOD – FEBRUARY 11: Musician Brian Wilson and his wife Melinda arrive at the MusiCares 2005 Person of the Year Tribute to Brian Wilson at the Palladium on February 11, 2005 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Brian Wilson;Melinda Wilson ORG XMIT: 52164434 GTY ID: 52164434KW009_MusiCares_200

Wilson expressed his gratitude for Ledbetter’s support throughout their nearly three-decade marriage. The couple married in 1995. Ledbetter, a talent manager and former model, also served as Wilson’s manager.

“Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior,” Wilson added. “She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career. She encouraged me to make the music I cared about most. She was my anchor. She was everything to us.”

A representative for Wilson confirmed Ledbetter’s death in an email to USA TODAY on Tuesday. No further details were released.

Wilson’s post also included a message from his children to Ledbetter. Wilson and Ledbetter have five children together, including daughters Daria Rose and Delanie Rae and son Dylan.

“She was a force of nature and one of the strongest women imaginable,” the couple’s children wrote. “Not only was she a model, our father’s savior and a mother, she was a woman empowered by her spirit and on a mission to make everyone she touched a better person.”

“We will miss her, but appreciate everything she taught us. How to care for the person next to you without expecting anything in return, how to find beauty in the darkest places, and how to live your true self with honesty and pride.”

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Melinda Ledbetter dead: Wife of Beach Boys star Brian Wilson dies at 77