Melinda French Gates: A Reflection on a Life Together
Bill Gates, the 69-year-old former CEO of Microsoft, has recently shared insights about his divorce from ex-wife Melinda Gates, calling it “the mistake I most regret.” Despite the emotional challenges that followed their separation, he revealed feeling “more cheerful now.”In a candid profile featured in The Times of London on January 25, Gates discussed the profound impact of their split, which came after 27 years of marriage and was publicly announced in May 2021.
The couple, who wed in 1994, are the parents of three children: Jennifer, Rory, and Phoebe. Gates expressed a desire to emulate his parents’ long-lasting 45-year marriage, stating, “I absolutely wanted that.”Reflecting on their time together, he highlighted their dynamic, noting, “I encouraged Melinda to be a little calmer than my mother was, but we were both quite driven. I spent more time with the kids than my dad did, but the ratio was still 10:1, with Melinda doing most of the caregiving.
We had a great time.”In 2021, Gates called their divorce “a very sad milestone,” acknowledging it as a source of “personal sadness.” Yet, he also expressed gratitude for the memories they created together, saying, “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 reminisced about the early days of their relationship, which began in 1987 when Melinda joined Microsoft.
He noted, “When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful—that came during the time that we were together. So, she saw me through a lot.”Following their wedding, the couple founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, establishing it as one of the world’s leading philanthropic organizations.
However, their professional collaboration encountered difficulties post-divorce. Gates admitted, “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.
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