Melinda French Gates has issued a pointed statement following the release of the latest batch of Epstein files, which name her ex-husband, Bill Gates.
The US Department of Justice released 3.5 million pages of documents related to the disgraced financier on Friday, January 30, with one email claiming Gates had contracted an STD after engaging with Russian girls.
Highlights
- As new Epstein files alleged Bill Gates contracted an STD and kept it from his then-wife, Melinda Gates responded with a pointed statement.
- Bill Gates has said his relationship with Epstein was purely business and that he regrets every minute he spent with him.
- The latest Epstein disclosure has also reignited scrutiny around Melinda and Bill Gates’ divorce.
Melinda’s comments, shared in a recent podcast interview, follow her earlier remarks, where she accepted that she has a hard time when details concerning Jeffrey Epstein and people involved with him surface, as they bring back memories of a very painful time in her marriage.
When stating this very personal perspective, Melinda sidestepped answering lingering questions about Gates and Epstein, saying those questions were for the people involved to answer.
Melinda French Gates spoke about forgiving Bill Gates after new Epstein files alleged he contracted an STD
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Epstein, in an email released by the DOJ on Saturday, wrote that Bill Gates asked for antibiotics to give to his then-wife, Melinda. The email claimed that Gates planned to give the medicine to her without her knowledge.
In a new episode of NPR’s Wild Card podcast, which has been making headlines since earlier this week but aired in its entirety on February 5, Melinda spoke about broken trust in her marriage.
Image credits: Brian Ach/Getty Images
When host Rachel Martin asked the billionaire philanthropist what growing older had taught her about love, Gates said the importance of “absolute trust” in all relationships, and that without it, it was impossible to keep growing.
“Did it take you more than a minute to learn to trust again because that had been broken in your…” Martin began, with Melinda adding, “Marriage?”
“Of course,” Melinda remarked, before noting that she thought she would never know how to trust again.
“But I have learned that with the right person, you can,” she later shared.
Asked by NPR if she was good at forgiveness, Melinda replied, “Yes, I think I am.”
“If you cannot eventually forgive somebody, then you hurt yourself,” Melinda opined, adding, “I forgive them, but I do not need to be in touch with them anymore.”
Image credits: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Melinda’s perspective on forgiveness appeared to circle friendships and other connections, as when asked if she had forgiven Bill, she said, “I think I am going to keep that one to myself.”
However, she later had a change of heart and went on to call her forgiveness of her ex-husband a “work in progress,” ultimately sharing, “I think I am getting there.”
Bill Gates has issued a clarification on allegations leveled against him in the latest series of Epstein files
Image credits: DOJ
In an interview broadcast on 9 News Australia on Wednesday, February 4, Bill Gates said he regrets “every minute” he spent with Epstein and that he apologizes for it.
“The email was never sent. This email is false,” he said about Epstein’s claims. “I do not know what his thinking was. Was he trying to attack me in some way?”
In his conversation with the outlet, Gates added that he first met Epstein in 2011 and had several dinners with him over three years, but never visited his island and did not have relations with women.
Image credits: DOJ
“The focus was always that he knew a lot of very rich people and was saying he could get them to give money to global health. In retrospect, that was a de*d end,” he said.
A spokesperson for Gates also denied the claims outlined in the Epstein files.
“The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates, and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame,” the spokesperson told ABC.
The latest allegations have renewed longstanding scrutiny of Melinda and Bill Gates’ divorce
Image credits: NPRWildCard
Melinda and Bill Gates ended their 27-year-long marriage in May 2021 and finalized the split in August of the same year.
The couple cited their belief that they could no longer grow together as the reason for their separation at the time.
However, in a 2022 CBS interview, Melinda acknowledged that Gates’ relationship with Epstein was among the factors that broke down their union.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” she claimed.
Image credits: NPRWildCard
Melinda added that she only met the s** offender once because she wanted to see who he was.
“I regretted it the second I walked in that door,” she reflected on their meeting. “He was abhorrent. He was evil personified.”
Image credits: Christian Liewig/Getty Images
In her NPR interview, Melinda expressed sympathy with Epstein and his associates’ victims, saying, “No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in.”
“I hope there is some justice for those now-women,” she added.
"She thought she knew him," a netizen said about Melinda and Bill Gates’ now-defunct relationship
