Melinda Gates addresses divorce with Bill Gates months after he called it a "mistake"

Melinda French Gates has addressed Bill Gates' recent comments in which he described their divorce as "the mistake I most regret." In an interview for Elle's 2025 Women of Impact issue, published on March 17, she reacted to her ex-husband's remarks and said,

"Look, divorces are painful, and it’s not something I would wish on any family."

Melinda emphasized that leaving the marriage was one of the most difficult yet important decisions she had ever made.

Bill and Melinda got married in 1994 before declaring their separation in 2021 following 27 years of marriage during which they had three children: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22. While Bill Gates publicly regrets their split while Melinda sees their breakup as appropriate.

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Bill Gates reflects on divorce, calls it his biggest mistake but cherishes shared memories

Bill Gates first expressed regret over his divorce in an interview with The Times, published on January 25, 2025. Gates labeled their divorce as one of his life's worst mistakes because he considered all his other mistakes combined to be less severe than this separation. He reflected on the shared experiences of their long marriage, saying,

"There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together."

He also acknowledged that his relationship with Melinda played a crucial role in his success, stating,

"You don't end up with a Microsoft result, being on top of the world, unless an unbelievable number of things converge... my marriage to Melinda kept me grounded."

Despite his regrets, he later clarified in a February 4 interview with Today that, although the marriage did not last forever, he would not have changed anything about their time together. He showed gratitude for everything they had experienced together.

Bill Gates met Melinda when she became a product manager for Microsoft during the year 1987. In 1994 they tied the knot and established the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 which developed into one of the world's biggest philanthropic organizations.

Since their split, Bill Gates has moved on with his girlfriend, Paula Hurd. Speaking about his current relationship, he said,

"I'm lucky to have a serious girlfriend. Her name's Paula. So we're having fun. Going to the Olympics and lots of great things."

Melinda, on the other hand, has kept details of her personal life private but has been linked to former Fox News correspondent Philip Vaughn.

While neither Bill Gates nor Melinda French Gates has publicly detailed all the reasons behind their separation, reports indicate that several factors contributed to the split. In 2021, Bill acknowledged an affair with a Microsoft employee, calling it a mistake, as reported by The Wall Street Journal on May 16, 2021.

Additionally, Melinda voiced concerns over his past meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, stating in a CBS News interview on March 3, 2022, "I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him." These factors, combined with other personal challenges, ultimately led to their separation.

Melinda, through her organization Pivotal Ventures, focuses on promoting gender equality and addressing systemic barriers faced by women. Bill, on the other hand, remains active in technology, climate change initiatives, and global health projects. He recently released his memoir, Source Code: My Beginnings, covering the first 25 years of his life.