Melinda Wilson, wife of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson, has died at 77. No cause of death has been revealed. Brian broke the sad news in a statement, which reads:
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
Brian also shared a statement from their children, which reads:
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.
Brian and Melinda’s relationship was portrayed in the 2014 Brian Wilson biopic Love & Mercy, where Melinda was shown helping Brian through his mental health struggles in the 1980s and helping to distance him from his therapist and legal guardian Dr. Eugene Landy, who the Wilson family later took legal action against.
Rest in peace, Melinda.