Who was Brian Wilson’s wife, Melinda Ledbetter?
MEMORABLE hits and successful music releases with The Beach Boys have earned Brian Wilson decades of fame.
On January 30, 2024, the rock music icon tragically lost his wife of 28 years.
"I remember meeting her at her dealership, Cadillac, and I said, ‘God, she's a pretty girl. That's a pretty girl,'" the Kokomo singer told Chris Connelly.
"I just said to myself, ‘God, I think I'll see her again sometime.'"
"That's what attracted me to him, he was so nice," Melinda said.
The early years of their relationship are chronicled in the singer's biopic, Love and Mercy.
The film was released in 2014 and featured Paul Dano and John Cusack as early and later versions of Brian, while Elizabeth Banks portrayed Melinda.
"Our five children and I are just in tears. We are lost.
"Melinda was more than my wife. She was my savior. She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career," he continued.
"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 then shared a message that appeared to be from the couple's children and revealed that the 77-year-old died "peacefully" 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 fathers savior, and a mother, she was a woman empowered by her spirit with a mission to better everyone she touched," the post continued.
"We will miss her but cherish everything she has taught us. How to take care of the person next to you with out 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."
On February 15, 2024, Wilson was placed under a conservatorship by his team after he was diagnosed with dementia - weeks following the passing of his wife, Melinda.
The conservatorship filling says Wilson is suffering from a “major neurocognitive disorder (such as dementia)," according to court documents, reported by .
Do Brian Wilson and Melinda have children?
Brian has two kids from his first marriage to Marilyn Rovell.
Their two daughters are Carnie and Wendy Wilson, two-thirds of the pop music girl group, Wilson Phillips.
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Brian and Melinda have five adopted children together, including two sons, Dylan and Dash, and three daughters, Daria, Delanie, and Dakota.
Through Wendy and Carnie, he has six grandchildren - five from the former and one from the latter.