Melinda French Gates details 'scary' moment she told Bill Gates she wanted a divorce
Melinda Gates has opened up about the moment she told her ex-husband, Bill Gates, she wanted a divorce.
In her upcoming book, 'The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward,' the mother-of-three shares the emotional conversation.
Melinda recalls how she and Bill took a trip to New Mexico together in February 2020, which she had originally planned to do solo.
On the last night of the trip, she sat down with the Microsoft co-founder and told him she wanted them to go their separate ways.
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"It was one of the scariest conversations I'd had," Melinda wrote.
Her decision to end their marriage came after the controversy surrounding Bill’s friendship with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The 60-year-old previously said the friendship was a factor in her push for divorce.
In the book, Melinda reveals that Bill was 'sad and upset' but also 'understanding and respectful' at the time.
Meanwhile, Bill deeply regrets spending time with Epstein while maintaining that he’s never been accused of any wrongdoing related to him, Melinda wrote.
In an interview with CBS, Melinda explained: "I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein."
She added: "I made that clear to him. I also met Jeffrey Epstein exactly one time. I wanted to see who this man was and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door.
"He was abhorrent, evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards. That's why my heart breaks for these young women. That's how I felt, and I am an older woman. He was awful."
Talking on CBS, the American businessman acknowledged that meeting with Epstein multiple times was a 'huge' mistake and 'a substantial error in judgement.'
Melinda also hinted at other issues in their marriage, including Bill’s infidelity.
While the 69-year-old admitted to an affair with a Microsoft employee in 2000 - something they worked through at the time - Melinda says it left her struggling with trust issues.
Since their youngest child was still in high school at the time, the billionaire couple chose to continue living together until her graduation. They also continued to keep up appearances for their joint philanthropic work at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. However, Melinda admitted she was suffering 'panic attacks' behind the scenes.
Then, in a 2021 statement, the former couple called it quits after 27 years of marriage. Though the divorce was a 'gruelling' process, today, the former couple remains cordial and committed co-parents to Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe, and enjoy their roles as grandparents.
Both Bill and Melinda have moved on since then. Melinda is reportedly dating Philip Vaughn, the founder of craft beer delivery service Tavour, while Bill has been spotted with Paula Hurd, CEO of software company Oracle.