Beach Boys' Brian Wilson mourns his "saviour" after wife Melinda dies, aged 77

31 January 2024, 11:05

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Brian Wilson married his second wife Melinda in 1995.

Brian Wilson has expressed his heartbreak as he announced the death of his wife Melinda.

The Beach Boys songwriter paid tribute to Melinda not just as his wife, but as the person who helped turn his life around and re-spark his musical career.

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"My heart is broken," Brian said on Twitter late last night (January 30).

"Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning.  Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost. 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. Love and Mercy. Brian"

The thread continued with a message from Brian and Melinda's children, which read: "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. 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.  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 mom. Give Grandma Rose and Pa our love."

LOVE & MERCY Featurette Brian & Melinda HD Brian Wilson

Having previously been married to Marilyn Rovell from 1964 till their divorce in 1979, Brian Wilson married Melinda Ledbetter in 1995.

At that time he had only recently extricated himself from his association with controversial psychiatrist Eugene Land. Brian and Melinda had previously dated for several years in the 1980s, but their relationship is said to have initially floundered due to Landy's interference.

They reconciled after Landy's departure and in 1999 she also became Brian's manager, helping to reignite his career, with Wilson upping his touring schedule and recording a string of studio albums over the last two decades. The couple adopted five children together.