Melinda Gates reacts to Bill Gates calling their divorce a mistake he most regrets

Bill Gates's remarks about regretting the end of his 27-year-old marriage to Melinda Gates went viral earlier this year. The former CEO of Microsoft noted that his divorce from Melinda was “the mistake he most regrets,” a comment that drew widespread attention. Melinda has responded to her ex-husband lamenting their separation in an interview with Elle for its 2025 Women of Impact issue published on Monday.
"You’ve clearly Googled more than I have,” Melinda told the publication, which noted that she rolled her eyes at the question. “Look, divorces are painful, and it’s not something I would wish on any family,” she added.
Gates in an interview with Times said that the “top of the list” in terms of his biggest mistakes was his divorce. “There are others, but none that matter,” he said. “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years.”
Bill and Melinda announced their separation on May 3, 2021 in a joint statement: “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.”
Bill and Melinda remained cordial post their separation and remained connected.
“We have three kids and two grandchildren so there are family events. The kids are doing well. They have good values,” Bill said in the interview.
The couple tied the knot in 1994 and share three children - Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22.


While Bill has moved on with Paula Hurd the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, Melinda is reportedly dating Philip Vaughn, an entrepreneur and the founder of Tavour, a craft beer delivery company.
Melinda in June 2024 spoke about her relationship with Gates in an interview with Time.


“It gave us the privacy to do what needed to be done in private,” she said during an interview with Time magazine about going through the split during the pandemic. “You know, I separated first before I made the full decision about a divorce. And to be able to do that in private while I’m still trying to take care of the kids, while still making certain decisions about how you’re going to disentangle your life — thank God.”
“I thought a lot about my three children,” she said. “But I certainly thought about the effect on the foundation. Those are the three biggest buckets: me, the kids, and the foundation. And I wanted to make sure that when we came through it to the other side — when I came through it on my side — all of those pieces were intact," she said.