The Beach Boys Founder Brian Wilson’s Wife Dead At 77: 'My Heart Is Broken'
Founder of The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, says "he is lost" after the death of his long-time wife and "savior" Melinda Ledbetter Wilson.
According to the family, Melinda passed away peacefully early Monday in her home.
Brian, 81, says he and his family are "lost."
The two have been married for 28 years. The Beach Boys frontman is vocal about Melinda being "more than a wife," saying she was an inspiration, his emotional security, and anchor.
"It is with a heavy heart that we let everyone know that our mom, 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," Brian wrote in a tribute on Instagram.
The post's caption continued: "She was not only a model, our fathers savior, and a mother, she was a woman empowered by her spirit with a mission to better everyone she touched. 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."
The couple met in 1986, when Melinda was working as a saleswoman at a dealership and sold him a car — a brown Cadillac Seville. They tied the knot in 1995. She was Brian's second wife and a model.
"I remember meeting her at her dealership, Cadillac, and I said, 'God, she's a pretty girl. That's a pretty girl, I just said to myself, 'God, I think I'll see her again sometime," Brian told ABC News in 2015.
"That's what attracted me to him," Melinda said. "He was so nice."
The lovebirds were so inspiring that a biopic was developed, 'Love & Mercy' (2014), starring Elizabeth Banks and John Cusack.
The couple celebrated their 28th anniversary in 2023.
Brian is the father of Carnie and Wendy. The "I Get Around" singer and Melinda adopted five additional children together; Dylan, Dash, Daria, Delanie, and Dakota.
The heartfelt post closed with: "We love you, Mom. Give Grandma Rose and Pa our love."
