Melinda French Gates says she and tech billionaire Bill Gates discussed divorce over burgers and Willie Nelson song

By Phong Ngo May 19, 2025 | 07:51 pm PT

Melinda French Gates reveals in her memoir that she and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates decided how to end their 27-year marriage over burgers and a Willie Nelson song.

The 60-year-old philanthropist recounts in her memoir "The Next Day" how she and Bill had a long, at times "tender," conversation about ending their marriage, People reported.

"And then I got in the car to drive home," she wrote. "On the way back, I pulled over into a parking lot and put on a Willie Nelson song we used to listen to together, ‘Always on My Mind’.

"I bawled, sobbing over the steering wheel."

Bill Gates and ex-wife Melinda French Gates. Photo courtesy of Gates Foundation

She described the following day as "even weirder and more painful." While driving with Bill to discuss how they would share the news with their three children, the pair made a familiar stop.

"Eventually, we got hungry, so we went out to get burgers," she wrote. "It was a scene that had played out hundreds of times between us. But this time, we were talking about how we were going to separate our lives."

Melinda also revealed in the book that Bill "wasn’t always faithful," a fact the tech billionaire has publicly acknowledged. Bill admitted to having an affair with a Microsoft employee in 2000, according to Daily Mail. Although the couple worked through it at the time, Melinda said it left her struggling to rebuild trust.

In the months leading up to her decision, Melinda experienced recurring nightmares, including one where she stood on a cliff with Bill and their children before her part crumbled down, sending her into a pit while they remained safe, as reported by HuffPost.

"But I knew when I woke up, ‘Oh, this means I need to separate and do something else,’" she added. "I need to figure this out, and I’m going to be alone in figuring this out."

Their divorce was finalized in 2021. The couple share three children: Jennifer, 29; Rory, 25; and Phoebe Gates, 22.

In a January 2024 interview with The Times, Bill Gates, 69, described it as "the mistake I most regret" and said the split left both of them "miserable" for at least two years.