Fans quickly flooded the comments with messages of love and support. “We love you, Brian,” one fan wrote. “So sorry for your loss.” Another added, “Sending you so much love. May you always feel her presence and find the strength to carry on.” Many expressed their shock and sorrow, with one fan saying, “I’m heartbroken to hear about Melinda’s passing. I can’t imagine your pain.”
Brian and Melinda’s love story began in 1986 when she sold him a Cadillac. They dated on and off for three years before reconnecting by chance in Los Angeles in 1992. The couple married in 1995 and had five children together: Dakota Rose, Daria Rose, Delanie Rose, Dylan, and Dash.
In a 1998 interview with People, Brian described his relationship with Melinda as unlike any he had ever experienced, calling her both a partner and a best friend.
Their relationship was portrayed in the 2014 biopic Love & Mercy, which chronicles Brian’s battles with mental illness, his tumultuous relationship with his controlling therapist Dr. Eugene Landy, and how Melinda helped him break free from Landy’s influence. Brian was portrayed by Paul Dano and John Cusack, while Elizabeth Banks played Melinda. The Wilson family famously sued Dr. Landy for “undue influence” and won the case in 1992.