There were a number of factors that led to Melinda French Gates’s decision to divorce her husband of 27 years, Bill Gates, as she said, which includes his work with the late disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. In a new interview with Gayle King that aired recently on ‘CBS This Morning,’ the philanthropist addressed their divorce publicly for the first time, and she explained that it was “not one thing but many things” that led to the demise of their marriage. “I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” Melinda explained.
She met with the convicted sex trafficker “exactly one time,” she added, because she “wanted to see who this man was.” “I regretted it the second I walked in the door. He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women,” said Melinda.
On the other side, Bill said in a statement to CBS that “Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I regret deeply. It was a substantial error in judgment.” Melinda’s ex-husband had an affair with a staffer 20 years ago, which a spokesperson for the Microsoft co-founder confirmed in May 2021, and she also spoke openly on that topic, reported Vanity Fair.
“I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that,” confessed Melinda. “It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where there was enough there where I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had,” she added.
The co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation also said when asked by King if there were other affairs over the course of their marriage that “those are questions Bill needs to answer.” Melinda “never thought” she would get divorced, but she said that their relationship devolved to a point where she felt she could no longer carry on.
“Unfortunately, I felt like I needed to take a different path. We knew that when the divorce was going to be a surprise people, and I felt bad about that. I don’t question myself now. Not at all. I gave every single piece of myself to this marriage. I was committed to this marriage from the day we got engaged and until the day I got out of it,” said Melinda.
Melinda has also felt a wide range of emotions after the married couple split, going from “days where I’m literally laying on the floor, on the carpet, thinking, ‘How can this be?’” to outright anger.
“You’re grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime. This is painful stuff,” she said.
Melinda and Bill are now on “friendly” terms, but definitely not “friends,” as she claims.
She explained that “there’s still healing that needs to happen. I certainly wish him well. I don’t wish him harm. I think we have a productive working relationship, and I think that will continue.”
She also added that, on a personal note, “I do feel like I’m turning a page in the chapter.”
“I mean, it’s 2022 and I’m actually really excited about what’s to come and life ahead for me,” she said.
“I’m dipping that toe in the water a little bit. It’s interesting at this point,” Melinda said with a smile, as she talked about dating again.
Check out Crankers funny shirts and coffee mugs.
SPECIAL OFFER!!! GO TO MYPILLOW.com/ILMF9 and USE MyPillow PROMO CODE ILMF9 for up to 66% off!
