#Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, Wife of Beach Boys Frontman Brian Wilson, Dies at 77

Melinda Ledbetter Wilson, wife of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson, has died. She was 77.

Brian shared the news on his social media Tuesday, writing, “My heart is broken. Melinda, my beloved wife of 28 years, passed away this morning.” No cause of death was immediately available.

He continued, alongside two photos of his wife, “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. 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.”

Brian and Melinda initially met in 1986, while she was working at a car dealership, and they went on to date for three years. Then in 1992, they rekindled their relationship and got married a few years later, in 1995.

Their life was also featured in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy, which starred John Cusack and Elizabeth Banks as Brian and Melinda.

Brian’s post also included a joint statement on behalf of their five children, Dakota Rose, Daria Rose, Delanie Rose, Dylan and Dash.

“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,” they wrote. “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 savior, and a mother, she was a woman empowered by her spirit with a mission to better everyone she touched.”

Their statement 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.”