Melinda Gates Reveals How She Learned to Trust Again in New Relationship After 'Painful' Divorce From Bill

Melinda Gates has moved on after divorcing ex-husband Bill Gates due to a lack of trust and honesty.

In an interview on the Thursday, February 5, episode of NPR's "Wild Card" podcast, the philanthropist — who was married to the Microsoft co-founder for 27 years — revealed she's learned to trust again in her new relationship.

When asked by host Rachel Martin whether it was hard for her to do so after it had been "broken" during her marriage, Melinda admitted she "thought it might never happen for me again."

She went on to say, "But I have learned that, that with the right person, you can, and it's baby steps at first, and you build on that and you see it and you test it, and then you can find it.”

Melinda made her red carpet debut with new boyfriend Philip Vaughn last year. Philip, 48, is an entrepreneur and former Microsoft programmer.

The pair — who have been linked since 2024 — attended an awards event hosted by George and Amal Clooney's foundation together in October 2025. They were also photographed in New York City ahead of her book promo tour months earlier.

The photos were taken just a day after she confirmed she was in a "pretty great" relationship while on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. Melinda also told the comedian she's "very, very happy."

During the same talk show appearance, the mom-of-three divulged she "had to" call off her marriage to the tech mogul. The longtime couple officially divorced in 2021.

"I learned to have a trusted relationship, which is what I wanted in marriage," she reflected. "Both partners have to be honest with one another, and if you can't, you can't have intimacy and you can't have trust. So in the end, I had to go."

Elsewhere in her interview with Rachel, Melinda shared that forgiving Bill is still a "work in progress," adding, "I think I’m getting there."

The former marketing manager also addressed the billionaire's inclusion in the files related to the case of late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, telling Rachel she feels "unbelievable sadness" about the connection.

She went on to say how it's "personally hard" for her when certain "details come up," as they evoke "memories of very, very painful times" in her marriage.

Melinda was most likely referring to the recent allegation that Bill caught an STD after cheating on her with "Russian girls."

In an email allegedly sent by Jeffrey in 2013, the convicted s-- offender claimed he supplied antibiotics to Bill to "surreptitiously give to Melinda."

The message was unearthed in the latest batch of documents released by the DOJ on Friday, January 30, though the tech guru denied the accusations.