Melinda Gates has finally opened up about what led to her and Bill Gates putting an end to their 27-year-marriage! On the March 3rd episode of CBS Mornings, Melinda got candid about her divorce for the very first time since she and Bill made their shocking announcement in May 2021, and even revealed what her present-day relationship with the billionaire computer programmer and entrepreneur is currently like!
“We certainly have a working relationship,” Mrs Gates told Gayle King about where they currently stand, following their shock divorce announcement ten months ago. “I would say we’re friendly at this point. Friends is a different word for me. That might come over time, but there’s still healing that needs to happen. I certainly wish him well. I don’t wish him harm. And I think we have a productive working relationship and I think that will continue.”
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The 57-year-old philanthropist then recalled how she felt after the world found out, adding that she never expected so much media attention following the divorce announcement! "I think we knew when the divorce was announced that it would be a surprise to people," Melinda, who shares three children with her 66-year-old soon-to-be ex-husband continued. "I felt bad about that, but I had no sense of how big of news it would be. You can’t anticipate something like that."
The media attention only got bigger, as the Microsoft co-founder admitted to having an affair while he was married to Melinda over 20 years ago, just days after the initial divorce announcement came out. "There was an affair almost 20 years ago, which ended amicably," a rep for Bill said at the time. Despite Bill's admission, Melinda didn’t reveal too much about it in her interview, giving a very short, sweet, and dignified reply of, "I think that’s something that Bill needs to answer," when King asked her to embellish on news of the affair.
Despite keeping her cards close to her chest in terms of the affair Bill confessed to, Melinda did admit that it wasn’t just "one thing" – which we assume means the alleged infidelity – that led to their break-up. "It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time when I realized there was enough there where I knew it wasn’t healthy and I couldn’t trust what we had," she confessed, before admitting that she shed "a lot of tears for many days," after filing for divorce, and was "laying on the carpet, thinking, ‘How can this be? How can I get up? How am I gonna move forward?'"
"And days I certainly was angry," she candidly continued. "That’s part of the grieving process. You’re grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime. This is painful stuff." However, Melinda said that she is now "starting to get to the other side," saying, "I do feel like I’m turning the page in the chapter, now." She added: "I’m actually really excited about what’s to come in life ahead for me." It sounds like she does have quite a few exciting things ahead of her, as she admitted that she is now "dipping" her toes in the dating pool in the hopes of finding another partner. "I hope that happens for me again!" she revealed before adding, "Dating has been interesting, at this point. But why not?!"
