Brian Wilson pays tribute to late wife Melinda: ‘She was my savior’

Sign up to Roisin O’Connor’s free weekly e-newsletter Now Hear This for the within monitor on all issues music

Get our Now Hear This e mail without cost

Brian Wilson has paid tribute to his late wife Melinda Ledbetter, who has died on the age of 77.

The Beach Boys co-founder married Ledbetter, who was additionally his longtime supervisor, in 1995.

Writing on X/Twitter, Wilson mentioned: “My heart is broken. 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 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.”

In an additional message, the {couples}’ adopted kids Dakota Rose, Daria Rose, Delanie Rose, Dylan and Dash added: “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 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 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.”

According to reviews, Ledbetter died peacefully at dwelling on Tuesday morning (30 January).

In 2014, Wilson and Ledbetter’s relationship was retold within the biopic Love & Mercy, which starred Paul Dano because the younger Wilson and John Cusack and Elizabeth Banks because the older Wilson and Ledbetter.

The movie chronicled Wilson’s struggles with psychological sickness, in addition to his sophisticated relationship along with his therapist and authorized guardian Dr Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). Ledbetter ultimately helped free Wilson from Landy’s management.

In his overview of Love & Mercy, The Independent’s Geoffrey Macnab wrote: “The film deals with [Wilson’s] burgeoning love affair with car saleswoman Melinda Ledbetter (Elizabeth Banks) in a remarkably gentle and tender fashion.

“Banks is best known for playing the vain and over-dressed Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games franchise. Here, she is in a far more subtle and affecting groove as the loyal, strong-willed woman won over by Brian’s Forrest Gump-like naiveté.”