More information regarding the reason behind Bill and Melinda Gates’s divorce is coming to light. According to multiple reports, Melinda Gates has actually been in touch with divorce lawyers since 2019.
And the reason why is because of Jeffrey Epstein, Vanity Fair and other media companies have reported. Two years ago, you may remember an article published by The New York Times, which revealed that Bill Gates’ relationship with Epstein was a bit deeper than Gates originally admitted.
Did Melinda Gates Start Thinking About Divorce Years Ago?
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According to The New York Times, despite Gates’ downplaying his dealings with Epstein, the Times reported that the father of three has “a number of meetings over the course of several years” with Epstein. Some of those meetings took place at Epstein’s New York mansion and “all of them” took place “after the financier was already a convicted sex offender.”
Even though Bill has not been accused of any wrongdoing, aside from taking meetings with a convicted sex offender, Bill did apologize after the 2019 article was made public. “Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein,” a spokesperson for the Microsoft co-founder wrote, “and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so.”
Now, it is being revealed that Melinda hired a divorce lawyer after learning that piece of information. According to The Wall Street Journal, Melinda and Bill met Epstein for the first time in 2013.
The meeting left Melinda feeling “uncomfortable” with Epstein and expressed those concerns. However, despite how Melinda felt about Epstein, Bill and other members of the Gates Foundation allegedly continued to work with Epstein anyway. The Wall Street Journal reported that it’s something that “still haunts” Melinda to this day.
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As Mamas Uncut previously reported, on May 3, the former couple announced their decision to divorce via a joint statement.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. 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. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”
Nonetheless, it has also been reported that Bill and Melinda will continue working together when it comes to their foundation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation continues to work towards its goal of combating disease and poverty at home and abroad.
Bill and Melinda first met in 1987 before getting married on New Year’s Day in 1994 in Hawaii. Over the last 27 years, they also became parents of three. Their oldest child, Jennifer Gates, issued a statement regarding her parents’ separation as well.
In part, the medical school student wrote that “it’s been a challenging stretch of time for our whole family,” and that she’s “still learning how to best support my own process and emotions as well as family members at this time, and am grateful for the space to do so.” She also wrote that she will not further comment on the divorce and thanked the public “for understanding our desire for privacy while we navigate the next phases of our lives.”
Neither Bill nor Melinda Gates have specifically commented on these new reports. And it’s unclear if they will.