Bill Gates and Melinda Gates quotes about marriage, divorce

Gates Bill a Melinda Gates were married for more than two decades until their 2021 separation.

“After much thought and much work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” Melinda he wrote in a statement share that May. “Over the past 27 years, we have raised three amazing children and built a foundation that works around the world to enable everyone to live healthy, productive lives.”

He added, “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.”

Bill and Melinda tied the knot in 1994, almost 10 years after initially meeting when she was hired at his company Microsoft. They started out as friends before committing to a romantic relationship.

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“She had other boyfriends, and I had Microsoft,” Bill joked in 2019’s Inside Bill’s brain. “We were like, ‘Hey we’re not serious about each other, are we? We are not going to demand each other’s time. ‘”

Bill and Melinda, who left the couple’s eponymous non-profit at the time in 2024, share three children: Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe. Keep scrolling for everything they’ve said about marriage and divorce:

Years of advice

Bill and Melinda were long considered a power couple.

“Working together as well as raising a family together, there’s a certain intensity to that,” he said during a Facebook Live 2019 session. “But we’re very lucky because we see things the same road mostly, the goals are largely the same.”

The ‘lowest’ moments

Talk to USA TODAY In May 2022, Melinda described the moment she decided to end her marriage.

“My lowest moment in life was when I finally came to the decision that I knew I needed to leave my marriage,” she recalled. “That was not something I ever thought would happen to me. Sure, that’s not what I thought 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. “

Learn to demonstrate

After the pair settled their divorce in 2021, Melinda settled into her new normal.

“It’s incredibly painful, in countless ways, but I had the privacy to go through it,” she said Fortune In October 2022. “I also kept working with the person I was moving away from, and I needed to show up and be my best self every day. So even though I might be crying at 9am and then have to be on a video conference at 10am with the person I’m leaving, I have to show up and be my best . And I learned as a leader I could do it. “

Alleged Fallout Affair

In the midst of the divorce, Bill was accused of infidelity.

“The divorce is definitely a sad thing. I have a responsibility for causing my family a lot of pain,” he said on the Today Show in May 2022. “It was a difficult year. I feel good that we are all moving on now. I certainly made mistakes and I take responsibility. I don’t think delving into the details at this point is constructive, but yes, I caused pain and I feel terrible about that. “

Although Bill did not definitively reveal whether he was unfaithful or not, the accusations still hurt Melinda.

“It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened,” he said on CBC Morning about what led to the break. “There came a point in time where there was enough there that I realized it wasn’t healthy and we couldn’t trust what we had.”

‘Hardest thing’ she has faced

“(The divorce) was the hardest thing I’ve ever been through in my life,” Melinda said on the May 2024 episode of Jay Shetty‘S. podcasts. “I thought I was going to be married for life. I thought I’d be married 50 plus years, and then all of a sudden, even with a lot of work and counseling, what you had doesn’t really exist. “

According to Melinda, she couldn’t move forward without “a lot of trust.”

“I never cried so much in my whole life,” she added. I prayed for a lot of grace for myself, for my children (and) for the whole situation that we would somehow get through this as a family behind the scenes. “

Related: Melinda Gates is resigning from her and ex-Husband Bill Gates Foundation

Billionaire Melinda Gates, one of the richest people in the world, has announced that she has resigned from her and the Foundation of ex-husband Bill Gates. “After careful thought and reflection, I have decided to step down from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” Melinda, 59, wrote in a lengthy statement on Instagram on Monday, May (…)

Leave the base

Melinda He left his role on the board of the Gates Eponymous Foundation in June 2024.

“After careful thought and reflection, I have decided to resign from my role as co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation,” he wrote via Instagram a month earlier. “My last day of work at the foundation will be June 7th.”

Melinda further emphasized that she was “extremely proud” of the work the organization had achieved during her tenure.

“The time is right for me to move on to my next chapter of my philanthropy,” he continued. “This is a critical moment for women and girls in the US and around the world – those fighting to protect and advance equality urgently need support.”

Mistakes and failures

In a January 2025 profile with The Times of LondonBill said that their divorce “The mistake I regret the most.”

“The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years,” says Bill, noting that he initially hoped they could have emulated his parents’ permanent marriage. “I encouraged Melinda to be a bit calmer than my mother was, but we were both quite driven. I spent more time with the kids than my dad did, but the ratio was still 10:1, with Melinda doing most things for the kids. We had a great time. “

The tech mogul added, “There’s something amazing about spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and the depth of the things you’ve done and having kids together. When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful – that came during the time we were together. So, she saw me through a lot. “

Child friendly

“Melinda and I still see each other – we have three children and two grandchildren so there are family events,” says Bill. The Times of London In January 2025. “The children are doing well. They have good values. “