Melinda French Gates is candidly sharing her divorce story for the first time with Gayle King on “CBS Mornings.” She and her Microsoft founder husband Bill Gates were married for 27 years before announcing their split last May.
Originally appeared on E! Online
Melinda French Gates is telling her story on her own terms.
Almost four years after she and Bill Gates announced their divorce, the Pivotal Ventures founder writes in her book, "The Next Day," about what she called “betrayals” in their 27-year marriage.
“It takes courage forging a different life,” Melinda, 60, told People in an interview published April 2. “When you change paths, you realize, oh, it’s a big opening.”
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Of the biggest lesson she’s learned during her divorce, the entrepreneur added, “You have to stay true to yourself always, right?”
While Melinda mentions that the reason for the divorce is for Bill to share, she writes in the book via People, that seeking therapy “made it possible for me to respond to the betrayals in my marriage without betraying myself in return.”
Melinda and Bill, who are parents of Jennifer Gates Nassar, 28, Rory Gates, 25, and Phoebe Gates, 22, announced the end of their marriage in May 2021. Since, the pair have candidly spoken about their split, with the Microsoft co-founder calling the end of his marriage, “The mistake I most regret.”
Entertainment News
READ A Look at the Surprising Aftermath of Bill Gates and Melinda Gates' Divorce
"You would have to put that at the top of the list,” Bill, 69, told The Times in January. “There are others but none that matter. The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years."
In turn, Melinda reacted to her ex-husband’s comments, revealing that she doesn’t feel the same way.
“Look, divorces are painful,” she said last month in an interview with Elle in March. “And it’s not something I would wish on any family."
For his part, Bill has been in a relationship with Paula Hurd—who is the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd—since 2023. And has since changed his tune about his initial comments about the split.
“It’s even hard for me to complain about things,” he said during a Feb. 4 appearance on Today. “I moved past the divorce, Melinda’s doing well. I got a lot of work that I love to do. Despite the fact that the divorce wasn’t great, having those three kids and the work we were able to do, even if I knew it wouldn’t last forever, I would still do it again.”
