Melinda Gates responds to Bill Gates calling their divorce a ‘mistake’
Melinda Gates has responded to her ex-husband Bill Gates’s comments about their divorce.
Earlier this year, the Microsoft founder named his divorce from Melinda after 27 years as “the mistake he most regrets.”
In an interview with Elle for its 2025 Women of Impact issue published on Monday, Melinda was asked about his remarks.
“You’ve clearly Googled more than I have,” she told the publication, which noted that she rolled her eyes at the question. “Look, divorces are painful, and it’s not something I would wish on any family.”
During his interview with The Times earlier this year, Bill said that the “top of the list” in terms of his biggest mistakes was his divorce. “There are others, but none that matter,” he said. “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years.”
Still, Bill said that he and his ex have stayed on good terms, and “see each other” often.
“We have three kids and two grandchildren so there are family events. The kids are doing well. They have good values,” he explained. The couple tied the knot in 1994. Their three children are now adults: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
He didn’t go into any details about what triggered the divorce in the interview, though he admitted in 2021 that he had an affair with an employee during the marriage.
Announcing their separation on May 3, 2021, Bill and Melinda said in a joint statement: “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.
“We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
Melinda previously spoke about her relationship with Bill in June 2024, one month after she exited the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“It gave us the privacy to do what needed to be done in private,” she said during an interview with Time magazine about going through the split during the pandemic. “You know, I separated first before I made the full decision about a divorce. And to be able to do that in private while I’m still trying to take care of the kids, while still making certain decisions about how you’re going to disentangle your life — thank God.”
She acknowledged that when her split happened, both her work with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and her family were on her mind.
“I thought a lot about my three children,” she said. “But I certainly thought about the effect on the foundation. Those are the three biggest buckets: me, the kids, and the foundation. And I wanted to make sure that when we came through it to the other side — when I came through it on my side — all of those pieces were intact.”
