Melinda French Gates recently opened up about her divorce from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in a podcast with Jay Shetty. The couple was married for 27 years before parting ways in 2021. She said that the separation was the “hardest thing” she had ever been through.
Melinda French Gates stated that there wasn’t “enough trust” in the relationship. “I had thought I was going to be married for life. I thought I’d be married for 50-plus years. So all of a sudden, you see that even despite very much work and counselling what you had doesn’t actually exist. And that for me, I couldn’t go forward. There wasn’t enough trust any longer. So it wasn’t something I wished for I certainly didn’t think I would be in my late 50s and be divorced,” she said.
Ms Gates reflected on her insecurities and said that she “didn’t know that was going to be me.” She continued in the podcast, “And it was incredibly challenging. I’ve never cried so much in my whole life. And I prayed a lot for grace…for grace for myself for grace for my children for grace for the situation that we would somehow get through this as a family behind the scenes.”
The philanthropist added that another part of the separation that disturbed her was the news going public before the procedures were completed. She told Jay Shetty, “Because I knew that would be a whole other thing and I think sometimes the only way I got through was because I do have faith. And thank God I had close friends who I could talk to on the hardest days and a good therapist but it is not something I would wish on any family. It is a very very difficult thing to go through because you’re pulling apart something that has been tightly woven together and that you believed in.”
She added, “And I will say though, on the other side, there can be a lot of beauty. Once you get through the rough patches and things finally kind of calm down for the whole family and everybody on the other side, there can be a lot of beauty. So I never thought I’d be in my late 50s I’m about to turn 60 and be single again. who expects that…but I didn’t. But hey it’s pretty great too.”
In May, Melinda French Gates announced that she had decided to resign from her role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – an organisation that has become one of the most influential in the world. “My last day of work at the foundation will be June 7,” she posted on X.
She insisted that this wasn’t a decision that she came to lightly, adding “The time is right for me to move forward into the next chapter of my philanthropy”.
“Under the terms of my agreement with Bill, in leaving the foundation, I will have an additional $12.5 billion to commit to my work on behalf of women and families,” she said. Ms French Gates said that she will be sharing more about her charitable plans in the future.
