Melinda Gates addresses ex-husband Bill Gates' ‘deeply disturbing’ ties with Epstein in bombshell memoir

Melinda Gates got candid about her ex-husband Bill Gates' “deeply disturbing” ties with Jeffrey Epstein in her new memoir, The Next Day. The 60-year-old confessed that she began having nightmares, which made her realise how troubled her marriage to the Microsoft founder actually was.

Melinda Gates opens up on ex-husband Bill Gates' ‘disturbing’ ties with Jeffrey Epstein

“That October, things had reached a fever pitch when The New York Times published a deeply disturbing article that raised serious questions about Bill’s conduct – questions that suggested he had betrayed not only our marriage but also my values,” Melinda wrote, per Page Six.

The bombshell article, which was published in 2019, claimed that Bill had met the disgraced financier on “numerous occasions.” One of those meetings allegedly lasted for hours. Following his first meeting with Epstein, the billionaire sent out an email to his colleagues in 2011 that read, “His lifestyle is very different and kind of intriguing although it would not work for me.”

However, Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for the businessman, told the NYT that Bill “was referring only to the unique décor of the Epstein residence — and Epstein’s habit of spontaneously bringing acquaintances in to meet Mr. Gates.” “It was in no way meant to convey a sense of interest or approval,” she added.

Additionally, Bill told the Wall Street Journal in a September 2019 interview, “I didn’t have any business relationship or friendship with him,” referring to Epstein. But the tech leader admitted earlier this year that it was a “huge mistake” on his part to connect with the sex offender. “In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him,” the 69-year-old told the outlet.

“I think I was quite stupid. I thought it would help me with global health philanthropy. In fact, it failed to do that. It was just a huge mistake,” Bill added in his interview with the WSJ. As for Melinda, it is not the first time that she has publicly called out her ex-husband for associating himself with Epstein.

In a 2022 interview, Melinda said, “I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” per Page Six, adding that she only met the child sex offender once because she “wanted to see who” he was. “I regretted it the second I walked in the door,” she went on, adding, “He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”

Elsewhere in her bombshell memoir, Melinda detailed her “gruelling” divorce from Bill, confessing that she began having “panic attacks” after telling him about her decision to part ways after 27 years of marriage. “It was one of the scariest conversations I’d have had,” she admitted before revealing that while her ex-husband was “sad and upset” by her decision, but was also “understanding and respectful.”