Philanthropist Melinda Gates had the dubious pleasure of watching the end of her 27-year marriage to Bill lead to bunch of Microsoft jokes, courtesy of the Internet, but there were certainly darker aspects to the turn of events. She previously spoke (according to The Daily Beast) about how “uncomfortable” she felt when, during a 2013 trip to New York City with Bill, the pair met up with the disgraced (and now late) financier, whose henchwoman, Ghislaine Maxwell, was recently convicted of helping him abuse young girls.
Melinda never met with Epstein again, but Bill did, for “several” dinner meetings, and he later admitted that this was a “huge mistake.” As it turns out, Bill sounding like Arrested Development‘s G.O.B. does nothing to take away Melinda’s disgust. We previously heard that Melinda was displeased, but while speaking with Gayle King on CBS Mornings, Melinda admitted that the association contributed to the marriage’s demise:
“It was many things. But I did not like that he’d had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him… He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards. So my heart breaks for these young women.”
The interview was a candid one in other regards, including Melinda’s confirmation that Bill’s one known affair was something that the pair tried to work though, but at a certain point, “I realized it just wasn’t healthy. And I couldn’t trust what we had.” She didn’t shut down the idea that Bill could have cheated multiple times, only to say that Bill needed to address those questions when asked. It’s a forthright attitude from Melinda, and surely, preferable to how Bill found himself squirming in late 2021 when grilled about that Epstein friendship. Awkward.
(Via The Daily Beast & CNN)