Melinda French Gates spoke about her divorce from Bill Gates
Melinda French Gates spoke candidly about her divorce from ex-husband Bill Gates after 27 years of marriage. In an interview with Time, he admitted that “divorce is a terrible thing.” “It just hurts. It’s scary when you realize you need him,” she said, before correcting herself, clarifying that divorce is a “difficult thing” not a “terrible thing.”
She admitted she was thankful the breakup wasn’t public. It happened during the Covid epidemic. “It gave us the opportunity to do things that should have been done privately,” he said. “You know, I got separated before I finalized the divorce.”
Asked if she was concerned about how the divorce would affect her and her husband’s private charity, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she said the divorce was ultimately “more of a personal matter.”
However, he added that at that time he was still thinking about both his organization and his children. “I thought a lot about my three children,” he said. “But I certainly thought about the impact on the foundation. And I wanted to make sure that when we got to the other side, all those pieces would still be intact.”
Frances Gates, who announced her departure from the foundation last month, has also spoken candidly about how well she feels now, despite the difficulty of her divorce.
He noted that he is now happy in his own area, stressing that he lives close to many of his friends.