Bill and Melinda Gates have decided to end their nearly 30-year marriage and divorce in May of 2021. The divorce was finalized in August after the judge approved the couple’s settlement.
By the court records, neither Bill nor Melinda will be required to pay spousal support, as reported by CNN. There were no further monetary specifics that were disclosed. One thing that was made clear in the paperwork was that Melinda French Gates has no plans to change her surname legally. Bill’s pre-divorce net worth was about $152 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index; after the split, he and Melinda may now be worth roughly $76 billion.
Melinda Gates speaks for the first time on camera about how Bill’s ‘meetings’ with Jeffrey Epstein contributed to their divorce. She also says Epstein was ‘evil personified’ and had nightmares about him pic.twitter.com/ckWOeYtPvV
— Robbie Martin (@FluorescentGrey) March 5, 2022
Bill is one of the world’s wealthiest people because he co-founded Microsoft. He and his wife have established themselves as philanthropic pioneers by giving away the bulk of their wealth. This dynamic duo has emerged as a major force in the fight against COVID-19 worldwide in recent years, and they have also spearheaded numerous large-scale public health campaigns. Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory Gates are the offspring of Bill and Melinda.
Melinda finally opened up about what went wrong in her marriage in a February 2022 interview with Gayle King. She blamed Bill’s adultery allegations and his involvement with Jeffery Epstein.
I am a firm believer in forgiveness, and I had hoped that we had gotten past that by this point,” she remarked. “There was no single defining moment or event. There was just a tipping point where I knew it wasn’t healthy and I couldn’t put my faith in what we had.”
Melinda also revealed in a new USA Today feature that the day she decided to end her marriage was the happiest of her life “low point in my life,” and going on to say, “That’s not something I ever expected to happen to me. Not what I expected on the day I tied the knot, but it was a sad day indeed when I realized I had to make a healthier decision for myself.”
Melinda started dating Bill in 1987, the year she started working at Microsoft. The Gates couple tweeted more details about their split. ‘After much consideration and effort on our relationship, we have decided to end our marriage,’ the pair wrote.
Additionally, the Gates mentioned carrying on the work of their foundation. In a statement, the couple said, “Over the past 27 years, we have raised three amazing children and founded a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.” While we remain committed to the foundation’s objective and will continue to work together, as a couple, we no longer see a future for us moving forward.
Bill Gates resigned from Microsoft’s board in 2020 so that he could devote more time to the Gates Foundation. Both he and Melinda serve as trustees and co-chairs of the charity, which was founded in the year 2000. According to CNBC, the foundation’s assets total $51 billion.
According to Melinda, the exes are still “nice but not friends” as of February 2022. “There is still mending to be done. My best wishes are with him. I have no ill will toward him. Our collaboration has been fruitful thus far, and I expect it to continue.”
As further details about the split emerge, we will update this site accordingly.