Melinda Gates broke up with her ex-husband Bill over his dubious friendship with a pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and revealed that she continues to meet him, even though she has “nightmares” about him.
In her first interview since her divorce from the billionaire last year, Melinda told CBS Mornings that she insisted on meeting Epstein back in 2011 because she wanted to see “who this man is.”
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I told him that clearly. I also met Jeffrey Epstein just once. I wanted to see who this man was, and I regretted it from the second I stepped through the door.
“He was disgusting, personified by evil. I had nightmares about it after that. That is why my heart is broken for these young women. That’s how I felt and I’m an older woman. He was terrible.
She told host Gail King that Bill had to answer many times when he met Epstein, and even suggested that it had contributed to the divorce.
“It was not one thing, it was many things [that led to the divorce]. Any of the remaining questions about Bill’s relationship with him … must be answered by Bill.
“I showed very clearly how I feel about him.”
Melinda also revealed that she and Bill are not friends, but are “friendly” and work together, and she suggested that he had more than one affair during their 27-year marriage.
“These are questions Bill has to answer,” she said when asked about reports that he had cheated repeatedly. He had previously admitted to an affair.
“I believe in forgiveness. “I thought we could handle some of that,” Melinda said of her 2000 affair with a Microsoft employee.
“I gave every part of myself to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day I came out of it.
The interview was filmed at the offices of Melinda’s new company, Pivotal Ventures, in Seattle.
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Melinda Gates in an interview with CBS. She lifted the lid on her marriage to Bill Gates for the first time, telling how trust in their relationship had been shattered by his 2000 affair.
Bill Gates at Jeffrey Epstein’s mansion on the Upper East Side, the site of many of his crimes, in 2011 – after the pedophile spent some time in prison for sex with minors
Bill has said in the past that the repeated meeting with Epstein was a “huge” mistake and a mistake in judgment.
In a statement to CBS, he said: “Meeting with Epstein was a mistake that I deeply regret. This was a material error of judgment.
Elsewhere in the interview, Melinda said she was in “tears” about the moments of the divorce before having to attend a meeting of the Gates Foundation, and how she is meeting again.
“I hope this happens to me again. I’m dipping my toe in the water, “she said, adding that she” definitely “wants to fall in love again.
She said the meetings were “interesting at the moment”, but did not give any further details.
He was a hideous, personified evil. I had nightmares about it after that.
The 57-year-old woman, who shocked the world when she and Bill announced in May 2021 that they were ending their 27-year marriage, had previously described how she endured emotionally challenging times while working with the billionaire.
The couple’s divorce was finalized privately in Washington – where their Gates Foundation is based – in August.
His terms were never made public, but Bill was worth about $ 152 billion at the time, giving Melinda a 50 percent $ 76 billion settlement. This does not include the couple’s huge property portfolio, which consists of homes in New York, Washington and California.
In a preview of the interview, Melinda pointed the finger at her ex-husband’s infidelity, saying, “I gave every part of myself to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day we put it on.
BILL’S AFFAIR WITH A MICROSOFT EMPLOYEE WHO BREAKS TRUST IN MARRIAGE
Melinda revealed that Bill’s affair with a Microsoft employee in 2000 “broke” the trust in their marriage and also suggested that he had been unfaithful more than once.
King asked Melinda, “Once trust is broken, isn’t it hard to get it back?” To which the philanthropist replied, “It’s very, very hard to get it back in any relationship.”
“I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we’ve been through some of it,” she said of the couple’s attempt to overcome Bill’s affair.
“It didn’t happen one moment or one thing, it just came at a time when there was enough that I realized it just wasn’t healthy and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
Asked about her response to reports that Bill had cheated several times, she said: “These are questions that Bill needs to answer.”
Bill and Melinda were married for 27 years before announcing their separation last May. They were shown together (left) in 2017, and Bill was shown (right) at last month’s Munich security conference.
“I WISH HIM GOOD, BUT WE ARE NOT FRIENDS” – WE WORK TOGETHER AT THE GATE FOUNDATION DIVORCE
Melinda told how, even though the couple is going through their divorce behind the scenes, they can still work “effectively together”.
“First of all, we both want to work together – we founded this institution in 2000 – both of us. The building has both our names.
“I believe in this institution, my values are baked in this institution. So I have always felt that it calls us to be our higher self.
“Even during the difficult times of the last 18 months, as we went through this process behind the scenes, we were able to show ourselves and work effectively together.
The former couple, who share three children (pictured), have not spoken publicly about the separation, but Bill is reportedly accused of an unrecorded question-and-answer session in July.
“I’m not saying it was easy, but I’m saying that I had days when I had tears an hour before an online meeting or I would be angry, but I still rose to my higher self and I think we can continue to do that. . ‘
She said the couple were not yet “friends”, but “friendly”.
“It simply came to our notice then. At this moment we are friendly. Friends is a different word for me. This may come with time, but for me there is still healing that needs to happen.
“I wish him well. I certainly don’t wish him any harm. We have a productive working relationship and I think that will continue, “she said.
TO CRY ON THE CARPET AND REALIZE THAT HER MARRIAGE IS OVER, BUT THAT SHE DID “NOTHING BAD”
Melinda speaks candidly about sobbing on the floor as her marriage fell apart, and about working through divorce.
“I think it’s really important to say, look, I’ve had a lot of tears for many days, I mean days where I’m literally lying on the carpet floor … and I’m thinking, ‘How is that possible?’ How can I become? How will I move forward? ”She revealed.
‘[There were] days [where] I was definitely angry. This is part of the grief process. You grieve the loss of something you thought you had and had all your life. This is a painful thing.
“At the end of the day, however, I began this journey of healing and I feel that I am beginning to reach the other side. And I feel like I’m turning a page in my head now. It’s 2022 and I’m really excited about what’s ahead and life ahead.
I had a lot of tears for many days, I mean days when I literally lay on the carpet floor … thinking, “How is this possible? How can I become? How will I move forward? ”
She added: “I don’t wonder now, not at all. I gave every part of myself to this marriage. I was committed to marriage from the day we got engaged to the day I left him.
“It simply came to our notice then. I didn’t do anything wrong. I keep my head high.
The interview – the first time Melinda has spoken publicly about her breakup with Bill – comes 10 months after the former couple first revealed to the world that they are splitting, and just seven months after finalizing their 130 billion divorce deal. dollars.
However, while Bill and Melinda remained silent about what caused their separation, just weeks after their announcement, the Microsoft founder was shaken by several accusations that he had behaved inappropriately toward employees of the technology company.
In May 2021, numerous reports surfaced alleging that the billionaire had pursued extramarital affairs with women working at Microsoft; that same month, Bill’s spokesman confirmed that he had an affair with a female staff member in 2000 while he was married to Melinda.
He was the company’s chief executive at the time. It is not clear what position or level of experience the employee had.
The affair remained a secret until 2019, when the employee wrote a letter to the board detailing what happened and allegedly asked Melinda to read it.
The company has launched an investigation into the claims.
While the investigation was still ongoing in March 2020, Bill shocked the business world by announcing his resignation from his position on the company’s board.
That same day, Bill retired aboard the Berkshire Hathaway, run by his friend Warren Buffett.
Then, in June last year, he announced his resignation from the Gates Foundation, which he and Melinda co-founded, in which she continues to play an active role as co-chair of the board.
Although Bill never spoke publicly about the separation, he reportedly told attendees at the Sun Valley conference in Idaho in July that the divorce was “his fault.”
While attending the so-called “summer camp for billionaires”, the founder of Microsoft revealed the impending divorce of the couple in an “unrecorded” session with questions and answers, according to the New York Post.
During the session, the weeping Bill admitted that the breakup of the marriage was his fault.
“He admitted that he was wrong,” one of those present told the Post. – He actually referred to the fact that it [the divorce] it was his fault.
The source added: “He really seemed a little emotional about it. He may have been on the verge of tears.
However, in the seven months since their divorce was finalized, the former couple have been friendly, gathering in October last year to host the wedding of their eldest child, Jennifer, who married Egyptian horseman Nayel Nasar. in a lavish ceremony at her 142-acre mansion in North Salem, New York.
Melinda also threw herself into the fight for gender equality, promising in June 2021 that the Gates Foundation would spend $ 2.1 billion on the cause over five years, one of the organization’s biggest commitments in more than two years. decades.
The philanthropist’s promise seems to send a clear message about her separation from her ex-husband; Melinda has long insisted that gender equality be a key priority for the Seattle-based foundation, while instead gave priority to polio eradication and vaccine development.