Washington, DC – Melinda French Gates expressed her “unspeakable sadness” following last week’s release of new documents detailing her ex-husband, Microsoft founder Bill Gates’s, relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Melinda, who separated from Gates in 2021, said she was “glad to be away from all of this filth” in a promotional video for her appearance on NPR’s “Wildcard” podcast.
“Whatever questions remain—I can’t even begin to figure it all out—those questions are for those people, and even my ex-husband. They’re the ones who should answer those things, not me,” Bill Gates’s ex-wife explained, noting that the full interview will air on Thursday.
According to CNN, the long-standing relationship between Bill Gates and Epstein is well-documented. But new questions have arisen following the U.S. Department of Justice’s release last week of more than 3 million pages of documents related to the Epstein investigation.
Some of the documents include draft emails from 2013, found in Epstein’s email account. These emails vaguely reveal Gates’s feelings of betrayal and allude to marital discord with his then-wife, Melinda. The documents also include discussions of business deals, his concerns about a sexually transmitted disease, and failed business ventures.
Bill Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein. A spokesperson told NPR that the allegations are “absolutely ridiculous and completely false,” asserting that the documents demonstrate “Epstein’s frustration at not having an ongoing relationship with Gates, and the lengths to which he would go to entrap and discredit him.”
Regarding her personal reaction, French Gates said that reading the documents brought back memories of “very painful times in her marriage.” She also described the situation Epstein put the girls in as “beyond heartbreaking” and “unimaginable.” She added, “I can bear my grief and look at these young girls and say, ‘My God, how could this happen to these girls?'” noting that she has been able to move on with her life, while expressing her hope that some justice will be served for these women.
