Billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has admitted that his divorce from Melinda French Gates after 27 years of marriage is his biggest regret in life.
Speaking in an interview with The Times of London on Saturday, the tech mogul reflected on the challenges of their separation, describing it as a “miserable” period.
Gates, 69, who tied the knot with Melinda on New Year’s Day in 1994, revealed that their decision to part ways in 2021 was deeply painful.
“The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years,” he said, adding that the split stands out as the top mistake he regrets in his life.
The billionaire noted that he had always admired the enduring marriage of his late parents, Bill Sr. and Mary Gates, who were together for 45 years.
“There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together,” he shared.
Bill and Melinda first crossed paths in 1987 during a Microsoft sales meeting. At the time, Melinda was a product manager, while Bill served as the company’s CEO.
Their love story reportedly began in a parking lot, where Gates asked Melinda out on a date. Over the years, they built a life together, welcoming three children: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
“When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful — that came during the time that we were together,” Gates said, reflecting on how she supported him through his growth as a business leader.
The pair announced their divorce in 2021 after secretly separating the year before. They explained that they could no longer “grow together as a couple in this next phase of life.”
Together, they co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to tackling global issues like poverty, disease, and inequality. However, after their split, Melinda resigned from the foundation in 2024, and it was renamed The Gates Foundation. Bill admitted feeling disappointed about her decision to leave.
“When we got divorced, it was tough, and then she made the decision to leave the foundation — I was disappointed that she took the option to go off,” he said.
While the exact reasons for their split remain private, reports suggest that Gates’s alleged infidelity and his meetings with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein may have played a role.
In a 2022 interview, Melinda admitted she was uncomfortable with Gates’s relationship with Epstein, calling him “abhorrent” and “evil personified.”
Bill, on his part, has acknowledged causing “pain” to his family but has avoided delving into details.
Since their split, both Bill and Melinda have moved on with their lives. Gates is currently dating Paula Hurd, the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, while Melinda is in a relationship with entrepreneur Philip Vaughn.
Despite their separation, Gates revealed that he and Melinda still maintain contact because of their children and grandchildren. “Melinda and I still see each other — we have three kids and two grandchildren, so there are family events. The kids are doing well. They have good values,” he noted.
