Melinda Gates has reunited, “dipping her toe” back into the world of romance less than a year after announcing her split from her husband Bill.
Melinda, 57, told Gail King’s CBS Mornings that she’s “definitely” ready to find love again and has already met a few fans.
“It’s interesting at the moment,” she chuckled during an interview with King on Thursday morning.
“You know, I dip my finger in this water.” I feel like I’m in a really good place. And I’m very, very excited about my life and the world – the work that lies ahead of me,” she said.
Bill, 66, has not publicly commented on the divorce.
Melinda Gates in an interview with CBS. She lifted the lid on her marriage to Bill Gates for the first time, revealing how the credibility of their relationship was undermined by his 2000 romance.
Melinda Gates and Bill Gates perform on stage during the 2018 Robin Hood Foundation charity event at the Jacob Javits Center on May 14, 2018 in New York City.
She also bankrupted her ex-husband Bill for his dubious friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and revealed that he continues to date him, though she has “nightmares” about him.
In her first interview since her billionaire divorce last year, Melinda told CBS Mornings that she insisted on meeting Epstein back in 2011 because she wanted to see “who the man is.”
“I didn’t like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I told him this clearly. I also met Jeffrey Epstein only once. I wanted to see who this person was, and I regretted it as soon as I crossed the threshold.
“He was disgusting, personified evil. After that, I had nightmares about it. That is why my heart is broken for these young women. That’s how I felt, and I’m an older woman. He was terrible.
She told host Gayle King that Bill had to answer many times when he dated Epstein and even suggested that this contributed to the divorce.
“Not one, but many [led to divorce]. Any remaining questions about Bill’s relationship with him… should be answered by Bill. I made it very clear how I feel about him.
Melinda revealed how;
- She sometimes cried “on the carpet” as she dealt with the divorce they announced last May.
- She forgave Bill for the 2000 romance, but he had to respond to reports of numerous romances.
- The couple is now “friends” but not “friends”: “I wish him all the best,” she said.
- Every billionaire must give away at least half of their fortune
- She is not accused of divorce, saying: “I did nothing wrong, I raise my head.”
- She founded her own company, now called Pivotal Ventures, but will continue to work for The Gates Foundation.
The interview was filmed at the offices of Melinda’s new company, Pivotal Ventures, in Seattle.
Bill Gates at Jeffrey Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion, the site of many of his crimes, in 2011 after a pedophile spent some time in jail for having sex with minors.
Melinda also revealed that she and Bill are not friends, but “friends” and work together, and suggested that he had more than one romance during their 27-year marriage.
He was disgusting, the personification of evil. After that, I had nightmares about it.
“Those are questions that Bill needs to answer,” she said when asked about reports that he cheated many times. He previously confessed to an affair.
“I believe in forgiveness. I thought we could get through this,” Melinda said of her 2000 romance with a Microsoft employee. I gave every part of me to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day I got out of it.
Bill has said in the past that meeting Epstein again was a “huge” mistake and misjudgment.
In a statement to CBS, he said: “Meeting Epstein was a mistake that I deeply regret. This was a significant error of judgment.
Elsewhere in the interview, Melinda said she “wept” about the moments of the divorce before she had to attend the Gates Foundation meeting and how she’s dating again.
“I hope this happens to me again. I dip my finger in the water,” she said, adding that she “definitely” wants to fall in love again.
She said the meetings were “interesting at the moment” but didn’t give any details.
The interview was filmed at Melinda’s new Pivotal Ventures office in Seattle. The company includes Melinda, who invests in women-led businesses.
The 57-year-old who shocked the world when she and Bill announced in May 2021 that they were ending their 27-year marriage has previously opened up about how she went through emotionally challenging times while working with a billionaire.
The couple’s divorce was finalized privately in Washington, where their Gates Foundation is based, in August.
Its terms were never made public, but Bill’s net worth at the time was about $152 billion, giving Melinda a 50 percent settlement of $76 billion. This does not include the couple’s huge real estate portfolio, which consists of homes in New York, Washington and California.
In an interview preview, Melinda pointed the finger at her ex-husband’s infidelity, saying, “I gave every part of me to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day we put it on.
“BILL MUST RESPOND TO BETRAYAL”: THE CASE OF THE MICROSOFT EMPLOYEE WHO BREACHES MARRIAGE TRUST
Melinda said that Bill’s affair with a Microsoft employee in 2000 “undermined” the credibility of their marriage, and also suggested that he cheated more than once.
King asked Melinda, “If trust is broken, is it hard to get it back?” To which the philanthropist replied, “It’s very, very difficult to get him back in any relationship.”
“I definitely believe in forgiveness, so I thought we were already through it,” she said of the couple’s attempt to get over Bill’s romance.
“There wasn’t a moment or a specific thing that happened, it happened at a time when it was enough for me to realize it was just unhealthy and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
Asked about her reaction to reports that Bill had cheated on several occasions, she said, “These are questions that Bill needs to answer.”
Bill and Melinda were married for 27 years before they announced their divorce last May. They were shown together (left) in 2017, while Bill was shown (right) at a security conference in Munich last month.
Assman for Bill has previously admitted that he had a relationship, but it has nothing to do with his departure from Microsoft in 2020.
“There was a romance almost 20 years ago that ended amicably.
“Bill’s decision to leave the board of directors has nothing to do with this issue. In fact, he has expressed interest in devoting more time to his philanthropy, having begun several years ago,” a spokesperson for The Wall Street Journal told The Wall Street Journal last year.
“WISH HIM WELL, BUT WE ARE NOT FRIENDS” – WORKING TOGETHER AT THE GATE FOUNDATION DURING THE DIVORCE
Melinda revealed how, despite the couple going through a divorce behind the scenes, they can still “work effectively together.”
“First of all, we both want to work together – we founded this institution in 2000 – both of us. The building bears both our names.
“I believe in this institution, my values are baked in this institution. So I have always felt that it calls us to be our higher selves.
“Even during the difficult times of the past 18 months, as we went through this process behind the scenes, we were able to show ourselves and work effectively together.
Bill and Melinda Gates at the wedding of their daughter Jennifer in North Salem, New York in October.
“I’m not saying it was easy, but I’m saying that I had days when I had tears an hour before an online meeting or got angry, but I still rose to my higher self and I think that we can keep doing it.. ‘
She said the couple are not yet “friends” but “pals”.
“Then it just became known to us. At this point we are friends. Friends is another word for me. It may come with time, but for me there is still a healing that needs to happen.
“I wish him well. I certainly don’t wish him harm.
“We have a productive working relationship and I think it will continue,” she said.
CRY ON THE CARPET AND UNDERSTAND THAT HER MARRIAGE IS ENDING BUT THAT SHE DID NOT “DO ANYTHING WRONG AND KEEP HEAD”
Melinda speaks candidly about sobbing on the floor as her marriage fell apart and how she struggled with her divorce.
She said she never thought their marriage would end in divorce.
“I never thought I would end up with a divorce. I had to go the other way. And so I think, you know, we knew that when the divorce was announced, it would be a surprise for people.
“I felt bad about it, but I probably had no idea how big the news would be. You can never expect something like this.
“I think it’s very important to say, look, I’ve had a lot of tears for many days, I mean days when I’m literally lying on the carpeted floor… and I’m like, ‘How is this possible?’ How can I become? How will I move on?” she said.
The former couple, who have three children (pictured), have not spoken publicly about the divorce, but Bill is reportedly being blamed for an unregistered Q&A session in July.
“[There were] days [when] I was definitely angry. This is part of the grief process. You mourn the loss of something that you thought you had and have had all your life. This is a painful thing.
“However, at the end of the day, I started this healing journey and I feel like I am starting to reach the other side. And I feel like I’m turning the page in my head right now. It’s 2022 and I’m very excited about what’s ahead of me and the life that’s in store for me.”
She added: “Now I’m not surprised, not at all. I gave every part of me to this marriage. I was committed to marriage from the day we got engaged to the day I left him.
“Then it just became known to us. I didn’t do anything wrong. I hold my head up high
“EVERY BILLIONAIRE IN THE WORLD SHOULD SHARE AT LEAST HALF OF THEIR WEALTH”
Melinda also used this interview to advise other billionaires to distribute most of their wealth, as she does.
She founded The Giving Pledge with her ex-husband and Warren Buffett with the intention of encouraging the world’s richest people to donate their money to charity.
If you happen to be a billionaire, trust me, you can give away half of that and it won’t change your life.
Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife Mackenzie also joined him. Jeff didn’t sign.
Melinda said of her charity, “I feel like if you happen to be a billionaire, trust me, you can give away half of that and it won’t change your life.
‘We should. We need a society where if you have wealth, you bring it back into society so that you can change and uplift others.
The interview – the first time Melinda has spoken publicly about her breakup with Bill – came 10 months after the former couple first let the world know of their divorce, and just seven months after the $130 billion divorce deal was finalized.
While Bill and Melinda kept quiet about what led to their breakup, just weeks after their announcement, the Microsoft founder was shaken by several accusations that he had behaved inappropriately toward tech company employees.
In May 2021, there were numerous reports that the billionaire had extramarital affairs with women working at Microsoft; That same month, Bill’s rep confirmed that he had an affair with an employee in 2000 while he was married to Melinda.
At that time he was the chief executive of the company. It is not clear what position or experience level the employee has.
The case remained a mystery until 2019, when an employee wrote a letter to the board detailing what happened and supposedly asked Melinda to read it.
The company has launched an investigation into the claims.
While the investigation was still ongoing in March 2020, Bill shocked the business world by announcing his resignation from his position on the company’s board of directors.
That same day, Bill retired aboard the Berkshire Hathaway, which was run by his friend Warren Buffett.
Then, last June, he announced his departure from the Gates Foundation, which he and Melinda co-founded, in which she continues to play an active role as co-chair of the board.
Although Bill never spoke publicly about the divorce, he reportedly told attendees at the Sun Valley conference in Idaho in July that the divorce was “his fault.”
While attending so-called “summer camp for billionaires,” the Microsoft founder revealed the couple’s impending divorce in an “unrecorded” Q&A session, according to the New York Post.
During the session, the crying Bill admitted that the breakdown of the marriage was his fault.
“He admitted that he mixed up something,” said one of those present. “He actually cited the fact that [the divorce] was his fault.”
The source added, “He did seem a little emotional about it. Perhaps he was on the verge of tears.
However, in the seven months since their divorce, the former couple have been amicable, getting together last October to arrange the wedding of their eldest daughter, Jennifer, who married Egyptian horseman Niel Nasar in a lavish ceremony on her 142 acres. mansion in North Salem, New York.
Melinda has also thrown herself into the fight for gender equality, pledging in June 2021 that the Gates Foundation will spend $2.1 billion on the cause over five years, one of the organization’s largest commitments in more than two decades.
The philanthropist’s promise seemed to send a clear signal of her separation from her ex-husband; Melinda has long insisted that gender equality be a key priority for the Seattle-based foundation, while Bill instead prioritized eradicating polio and developing a vaccine.
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