May 13, 2021- 5:10 p.m.
Bill Gates meetings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein are apparently an issue that’s weighed heavily for a long time on his now estranged wife, Melinda Gates.
“Epstein is definitely a sore spot” for Melinda, a source confided to People. “That’s a long time for issues to fester.” They added that anything involving Epstein was a “major trauma” for Melinda and that “she was totally opposed to what she considered shady dealings and some other issues he wanted to pursue in the business area. She was not afraid to speak up about it either.” But while this was a crucial issue for her, the source claims the decision to ultimately file for divorce from her husband of 27 years was due to a “variety of reasons.”
In October 2019, two months after Epstein was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking and conspiracy charges, The New York Times released a report revealing that his relationship with the Microsoft cofounder was slightly more involved than Gates previously acknowledged. In September of that year, Gates had admitted to the Wall Street Journal to having met with Epstein, but added that he “didn’t have any business relationship or friendship with him.” The Times’ article revealed, however, that the pair had numerous meetings over the course of a few years, including multiple meetings at Epstein’s New York mansion, all of them after the financier was already a convicted sex offender. A spokesperson for the philanthropist told the paper at the time, “Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so.”
Around the same time as the release of that story, Melinda reportedly began meeting with divorce lawyers, according to the Wall Street Journal. A source claimed to the paper that Melinda told her husband she was “uncomfortable” with Epstein after they met him together in 2013. But despite her concerns, Bill and other members of the Gates Foundation continued to work with the sex offender, something that “still haunts” Melinda to this day, according to The Daily Beast, which first reported on the 2013 meeting.
Earlier this month, the couple announced their divorce via a joint statement that read, “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives. We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”
