They’re both on the record as being happily married, but that hasn’t stopped billionaire Richard Branson and reporter Sarah Harris from engaging in some harmless and hilarious flirting on national TV this week.
Sharing a desk together on Tuesday evening’s edition of The Project, things kicked off when comedian Tommy Little asked the airline juggernaut how it was that he came to own his now infamous island, where Barack and Michelle Obama were recently spotted on holiday.
"I was chasing a lady, I was 28 years old," Branson began, saying that in a bid to woo his now wife, Joan Templeman away from her then boyfriend, he asked her to travel to the Virgin Islands for the weekend where he was seeing some property, something that was completely false, he now admits.
"I fell in love with her, that was 40 years ago," he said.
Listen: Sarah Harris talks to Mia Freedman about her life in the spotlight. Post continues...
Chiming in, Harris asked, "Is your pursuit of space also to impress a girl, and when is it happening? We've been hearing that we're going to go to the moon for ages."
Branson, who owns Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Australia, Virgin Money, Virgin Mobile, Virgin Active, and Virgin Media launched Virgin Galactic in 2004 - a company dedicated to making space travel a reality of the near future.
Not missing a beat, Branson replied, “Darling, when shall we go to the moon?”
Laughing, the 66-year-old continued, telling the panel and studio audience, “The last time we met was in a hangar about ten years ago and I can still remember — and look," he said pointing to Harris's outfit of the evening, "she’s wearing red, lady in red ... you must have had a crush on me.”
Harris's jaw didn't take long to drop.
But ever the sage giver of advice, Little turned to Harris and whispered, "Sarah, get him to buy you a planet."
Seriously, though, if the offer is still on the table, Sir Richard, I'll take it.
Top Comments
I don't see this as being anything shocking- it just comes across as somewhat awkward but the usual banter. It doesn't appear Sarah was upset about this so perhaps we should take it at face value and not be either! and mr Branson, you can take me :-)
I'm a guy who couldn't really understand the Gayle outrage, however they're very different situations. McLaughlin was interviewing Gayle in a serious fashion, and he turned the interview around very quickly. His biggest mistake was not moving on from the quick flirt, pushing it by saying "don't blush, Baby"! In this one, Bransons joke was very tongue in cheek, and it was directly following up a conversation about his partner (who he obviously respects a lot). It's often hard to describe the nuances here which make a big difference, but I think most people would see these as quite different situations.
Agree