At the top ofBill Gates’s list ofregretssits his divorce withMelinda French Gatesand the circumstances surrounding it — but netizens are showing him no mercy.
The Former CEO of Microsoft opened up in an interview withThe Sunday Timesthis past weekend and said that while he is “more cheerful now,” the unraveling of his 2021 separation with his ex-wife will continue to haunt him.
HighlightsBill Gates says his divorce from his ex-wife Melinda was his biggest regret.Comments offered him no mercy, bringing up his meetings with Jeffrey Epstein and his previous affair.While Melinda was heartbroken for a while, she’s “excited” at what her future holds.
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Bill Gates claims his divorce with ex-wife Melinda is at the mistake he regrets the most
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“That was the mistake I most regret,” he admitted. And though there have been other decisions he isn’t particularly proud of, their break-up is “at the top of the list.”
“There are others but none that matter,”Gatescontinued. “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years.”
Thebillionairenever gave a solid reason on why he and his former wife separated, but he did confess in 2021 that he’d had an affair with an employee during his marriage.
Image credits:thisisbillgates
Still, he and his wife — who are both seeing other people now — seem to maintain a somewhat friendly relationship with one another.
“Melinda and I still see each other — we have three kids and two grandchildren so there are family events,” he said. “The kids are doing well. They have good values.”
But while the philanthropist seems to have cleared her ex-husband from her immediate hit list, users on the Internet weren’t so forgiving.
The billionaire had an affair with an employee while still being married to Melinda
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“Wait, he thinks divorcing her was the biggest mistake,” one person wrote. “Not the fact that he cheated on her? He doesn’t regret that? Wow!”
Another echoed, “Out of all the horrible things this man has done that’s what he regrets the most?”
“Feels a bit narcissistic,” penned a third. “The divorce itself is not the biggest regret. Just own up to your actions/behavior dawg!!”
“Maybe don’tcheaton your spouse,” suggested a user.
Image credits:Melinda French Gates
“Not all the trips to Epstein island?” one person asked.
“Can someone please tell him SHE divorced him,” someone emphasized.
And, according to Melinda herself, this last claim has some truth to it.
The billionaire claimed they were only talking about global health initiatives, but he quickly halted the meetings when he began to realize that Epstein’s promises were not something he could trust.
In 2022, Melinda cited these interactions as a huge reason for their divorce, as she talked toCBS Mornings’anchor Gayle King.
Image credits:Steve Granitz / Getty
“I did not like that he had meetings withJeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him,” she stated. “I also met Jeffrey Epstein exactly one time. I wanted to see who this man was and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door,” adding that she had gotten “nightmares” after seeing him.
After a while, Melinda realized that her relationship with Bill was starting to deteriorate and that she needed to step in before it was too late.
Jeffrey Epstein’s interactions with Bill was a huge reason why Melinda felt their relationship was in a bad place
Image credits:Victor Malafronte / Getty
“It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened,” she revealed. “There just came a point in time where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn’t healthy and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
And, as Bill mentioned, the realization was heartbreaking for Melinda.
There were days full of many “tears” as she questioned herself: “How can this be? How can I get up? How am I gonna move forward?”
“You’re grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime. I mean, this is painful stuff,” the philanthropist said. “At the end of the day though, I started on this journey of healing and I feel like I’m starting to get to the other side.”
On a more hopeful note, she added, “I’m actually really excited about what’s to come and life ahead for me.”
The two are now seeing other people
Bill and Melinda married back in 1994 and share three kids together: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22. The couple confirmed their split in May 2021, according toPage Six, but had been separated for a year before the announcement.
Comments were merciless as they slammed the former CEO
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