Melinda Gates Admits Divorce From Bill Gates Was 'Unbelievably Painful': 'I Couldn't Stay In That Marriage Anymore'

Though Melinda and Bill Gates looked like the perfect couple, they weren't meant to be.

"I had some reasons I just couldn’t stay in that marriage anymore," Melinda explained of their relationship. "But the odd thing about COVID is that it gave me the privacy to do what I needed to do. It’s unbelievably painful, in innumerable ways, but I had the privacy to get through it."

In order to cope with being on her own, Melinda, who shares three children: Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe with Bill, was able to let out her feelings at home. "I kept working with the person I was moving away from, and I needed to show up and be my best self every single day," she shared. "So even though I might be crying at 9 a.m. and then have to be on a video-conference at 10 a.m. with the person I’m leaving, I have to show up and be my best."

Ultimately, the philanthropist was able to come out of the situation on the other side.

"I learned as a leader that I could do it. It reminded me that the foundation calls me to be my best," she said. "We work with unbelievable partners around the world who were also struggling during COVID. I was on a video call with a woman who had lost her father, and a week later she’s on a call with me, right? My main concern, of course, was trying to protect my kids through it. And we got to the other side.”

In May 2021, the pair shocked the world when they announced they were no longer together.

“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” they shared via Twitter. “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.”

“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives," the message read.

This isn't the first time Melinda spoke about Bill, who made headlines for having an affair with a Microsoft employee.

“I think it’s really important to say, look, I had a lot of tears for many days,” she told CBS Mornings. “I mean, [I had] days where I’m literally laying on the floor and the carpet, you know, this close to me, thinking, ‘How can this be? How can I get up? How am I gonna move forward?’ And days I certainly was angry. That’s part of the grieving process. You’re grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime. I mean, this is painful stuff.”

Melinda spoke with Fortune magazine.