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

The Beach Boys co-founder said: ‘She gave me the emotional security I needed to have a career.’

Brian Wilson and Melinda Ledbetter attend the Golden Gloves in 2016 (Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

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

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

Writing on X/Twitter, Wilson said: “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 a further message, the couples’ adopted children 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.

Brian Wilson and Melinda Ledbetter with actors Paul Dano and Elizabeth Banks at a release party for ‘Love and Mercy’ in 2015 (Getty Images)

“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 reports, Ledbetter died peacefully at home on Tuesday morning (30 January).

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

The film chronicled Wilson’s struggles with mental illness, as well as his complicated relationship with his therapist and legal guardian Dr Eugene Landy (Paul Giamatti). Ledbetter eventually helped free Wilson from Landy's control.

In his review 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.”