Melinda French Gates says she 'had to' leave tech billionaire Bill Gates over lack of honesty

Appearing on "The Late Show" with Stephen Colbert on April 14 to promote her memoir "The Next Day," Melinda spoke candidly about her separation and the lessons she learned.

"I learned to have a trusted relationship, which is what I wanted in marriage, both partners have to be honest with one another," she said. "And if you can't, you can't have intimacy and you can't have trust. So in the end, I had to go."

In her book, Melinda, 60, discusses how she responded to the betrayals in her marriage while staying true to herself. She credits her healing to years of therapy. Her separation from the Microsoft co-founder was kept private for over a year.

During an interview with People magazine, Melinda reflected on the journey. "You have to stay true to yourself always, right?" she said, emphasizing the importance of authenticity. "Hopefully it might be helpful to someone else."

Appearing on another TV show, Melinda admitted that the decision to leave was "painful" but ultimately led to personal growth. "I ended up learning some lessons and there was some growth in there, too," she shared.

In her memoir, she recounts vivid nightmares, including one where she fell off a cliff, which led her to make the final decision. "As dramatic as it sounds," she wrote, "I knew, in that moment, that I was going to have to make a decision, and that I was going to have to make it by myself."

Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda French Gates

Melinda explained her decision to openly write about her painful separation: "It was important because if I'm going to be my most authentic self, people knew I had gone through it."

Bill Gates, for his part, also discussed the divorce, calling it "tough" and acknowledging it as "the mistake I most regret" during a January interview with the UK’s The Times. However, he clarified on news site, Today, the following month that it was not the marriage itself he regretted.

"Despite the fact that the divorce wasn’t great, having those three kids, the work we were able to do together, even if I knew that it [wouldn't] last forever, I would still do it again," the billionaire said.

Looking to the future, Melinda confirmed in her "Late Show" appearance that she is actively dating and enjoying the experience. She expressed her happiness, saying she is "very, very happy."

The philanthropist, who has been seen heading to a Broadway show with her new partner, tech investor Philip Vaughn, was recently photographed looking joyful, according to the Daily Mail. The couple, whose relationship was first reported in October 2024, appeared to be smitten, sharing laughs as they walked hand-in-hand.

Bill Gates, 69, has also moved on, dating Paula Hurd, widow of the former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, since 2022.

The highly publicized divorce, finalized in August 2021. Despite their separation, Melinda and Bill remain in Seattle, with their three children—Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22—now living on the U.S.'s East Coast.

The tech titan recently revealed that each of his three children will inherit less than 1% of his fortune, currently valued at over US$100 billion. According to Forbes, Gates’ net worth stood at $107.5 billion as of April 14. Even 1% of that sum would amount to more than $1 billion for each of his children, according to People.