Despite the difficulty of ending their 27-year marriage, Melinda emphasised that she was confident in her ability to move forward. “I knew when I got divorced, I would be okay on my own. And I think that was the most important thing,” she added.
Bill Gates on the pain of divorce
In January, the Microsoft co-founder opened up about the emotional toll of his divorce in an interview with The Times of London.
“The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years,” Bill admitted. He also shared that he had hoped their marriage would last as long as his parents’, Bill Sr. and Mary, who were together for 45 years.
“There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together,” he reflected.
A love story that began at Microsoft
The former couple first met in 1987 during a Microsoft sales meeting when Melinda was a product manager and Bill was the company’s CEO.
After reportedly asking her out in a parking lot, the pair’s relationship flourished, leading to their marriage on New Year’s Day in 1994. Together, they raised three children: Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.
“When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful — that came during the time that we were together,” Bill said. “So, she saw me through a lot.”
Why they chose to part ways
In 2021, the Gateses publicly announced their divorce. In a joint statement, they explained that they could no longer “grow together as a couple in this next phase of life.”
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