NEWSMelinda Gates Reveals She Is 'Friendly' With Ex Bill Gates After Messy Divorce
Melinda Gates remains cordial with her ex-husband, Bill Gates, after their divorce.
April 3 2025, Published 11:30 a.m. ET
Melinda French Gates is keeping things "friendly" with her ex-husband, Bill Gates, following their divorce.
In an interview on Thursday, April 3, Melinda, 60, admitted she still sees Bill and maintains a cordial relationship with him.
Melinda Gates remains cordial with her ex-husband, Bill Gates, after their divorce.
"One of the most important things in my life is being present for the big moments in my children’s — and now my grandchildren’s — lives," she said to People. "Naturally, Bill and I see each other every now and then at family events, such as graduations. When we do, it's friendly."
Melinda shares three children with the Microsoft founder: Jennifer, 28, Phoebe, 22, and Rory, 25. They also have two grandkids, Jennifer's daughters, Leila, 2, and Mia, 5 months.
Bill and Melinda Gates were married for 27 years.
The former couple — who founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation together — split in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. Since then, Bill, 69, has been dating Paula Hurd and bringing her along as arm candy to several events, such as the BNP Paribas Open in California in March.
Melinda has also moved on and was spotted getting cozy with entrepreneur Philip Vaughn at the restaurant Le Bernardin in New York in October 2024.
Bill and Melinda Gates got divorced in 2021.
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Melinda gets candid in her upcoming book, The Next Day: Transitions, Change, and Moving Forward, about Bill’s infidelity, which led her to end their marriage.
"Bill has publicly acknowledged that he wasn’t always faithful to me," she wrote, which particularly came to light when he had frequent meetings with child s-- offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Melinda had a bad feeling about her marriage since 2019, when she experienced nightmares about a house collapsing around her and suffered from panic attacks each night.
Melinda Gates admitted it's still difficult talking about Bill Gates' infidelity.
"As dramatic as it sounds, I knew, in that moment, that I was going to have to make a decision — and that I was going to have to make it by myself," the billionaire philanthropist wrote.
Even though four years have passed, Melinda admitted it’s still difficult opening up about her ex-husband’s betrayal. She stressed the importance of keeping it real in hopes of helping someone else going through a similar experience.
Bill Gates revealed he regrets divorcing Melinda.
The Microsoft founder — who used to share a book club with his wife and enjoyed meditation sessions with her — told The Times in January that losing Melinda was "the mistake I most regret."
"You would have to put that at the top of the list," Bill said. "There are others but none that matter. The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years."
