Melinda French Gates has publicly spoken out about her divorce from Bill Gates, saying that although she and the co-founder of Microsoft are “friendly at the moment”, she is not ready to call her relationship with Gates “friends”.
In a recent interview with Gail King of CBS, French Gates said a number of factors led to the divorce of the high-profile couple last May after 27 years of marriage.
“Not one moment or one thing happened. There just came a time when there was enough out there that I realized it just wasn’t healthy. “I couldn’t trust what we had,” said the billionaire philanthropist.
French Gates revealed that she cried many times during her marriage, sometimes while lying on the floor. “How can I become? How will I move? ”She wondered, she said.
“I gave every part of myself to this marriage. “I was committed to this marriage the day we got engaged and the day I got out of it … but I also think society put things on women as if it were our fault,” she said. “I did nothing wrong, so I look up.
In 2021, Gates admitted to having an affair with a Microsoft employee, which Microsoft asked its board to investigate shortly before his resignation in 2020.
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago that ended amicably,” said Gates spokeswoman Bridget Arnold.
Speaking about the affair, French Gates said he “certainly believes[s] in forgiveness and that’s why I thought we worked through part of it. “
Asked about a report claiming that Gates had had many affair, French Gates said: “You know, I think these are questions that Bill has to answer.”
She said Bill Gates’ frequent meetings with financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein played a role in the divorce. She said: “I didn’t like that he had met with Jeffrey Epstein … I told him that clearly.
She added that she met Epstein once because “I wanted to see who this man was and I regretted it from the second I stepped through the door.”
“He was disgusting, he embodied evil. I had nightmares about it after that, “said French Gates.
Overwhelmed by Gates’ ongoing meetings with Epstein, despite her disapproval, she said: “Every question that remains about Bill’s relationship … they have to answer Bill.”
French Gates said she would continue to work with her ex-husband at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which they co-founded more than 20 years ago.
“We certainly have a working relationship and I would say we are friendly at the moment,” she said.
“Friends?” King asked.
French Gates said: “Friends is a different word for me… which may come with time, but for me there is still healing that needs to happen.”
She said she was open to falling in love and dating again. “I hope this happens to me again. “I’m dipping my finger in this water,” she said.
Last month, French Gates announced that it would no longer direct most of its wealth through the Gates Foundation, one of the world’s largest philanthropic organizations.
“I think philanthropy is most effective when it gives priority to flexibility over ideology – and why I will continue to look for new partners, ideas and perspectives in my work at the Foundation and Pivotal Ventures,” wrote French Gates, referring to its investments and incubation company she founded in 2015