Esther M.A
Melinda French Gates has revealed that the decision to divorce her ex-husband, Bill Gates was not an easy one for her, adding that it was the lowest moment in her life because she had never imagined it.
According to PageSix.com, the billionaire philanthropist told USA Today in an interview that was published Sunday that just like everyone has “low moments”, she is “not happy every day” after divorcing her ex-husband.
Although she said that it was the healthiest thing to do, she said it was not something she “ever thought would happen” when she got married.
“It certainly wasn’t what I thought on the day I got married. But I realized for myself, I needed to make a healthier choice, and that was just a very, very sad day,” the news website quoted Melinda as having said.
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The billionaire couple announced their divorce intentions in May 2021 and it was finalised in August of the same year after 27 years of marriage that produced three children.
They have daughters, Jennifer, 25, and Phoebe, 19, and a son, Rory, 22.
After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.
“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.” Bill and Melinda said in a joint statement last year.
Melinda, 56, reportedly disclosed in a recent interview that the friendship of Bill,66 with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was one of the factors that influenced her decision to end the about 3-decade old marriage.
Reports say Bill allegedly had an affair with a Microsoft employee, a development which the company’s board became aware of in 2019.
It is believed that the extramarital affair was one of the reasons for the divorce, as Melinda said it was “not one thing but many things.”
“I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that. It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where there was enough there where I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had,” French Gates also told King as quoted by PageSix.com.
In their notice to the world about their divorce, they indicated that they would work together as cofounders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to ensure its initial aim is not jeopardised as a result of the divorce.
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