Bill and Melinda Gates announce divorce after 27 years of marriage
Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce Monday evening, after 27 years of marriage.
They were one of the most powerful couples in the world. Bill and Melinda Gates announced their divorce on Monday evening, after 27 years of marriage. “After careful consideration and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” they wrote in a statement. “During those 27 years, we raised three wonderful children and started a foundation that helps people around the world lead healthier and more productive lives,” they continue. They specify that they will continue to manage, together, their foundation which fights against poverty and disease. However, they feel that they can no longer "grow together as a couple".
The couple met at Microsoft itself, founded by Bill Gates, where Melinda joined in 1987 as marketing manager. Not wanting their relationship to interfere with their work, they kept it a secret for several years before finally getting married in 1994 in Hawaii. “There were times when I felt uncomfortable being the boss’s wife. This is the reason why we only got married after seven years, ”Melinda Gates explained to Paris Match in May 2019. She also came back to the reasons that had made her fall in love with Bill Gates: “I would never have fallen in love with him if he hadn't had a huge heart. I saw it from day one. He told me about his parents and his cousin who died of the AIDS virus, which was particularly taboo at the time. I was touched by his sensitivity ". The couple are parents of three children born in 1996, 1999 and 2002.
— Melinda French Gates (@melindagates) May 3, 2021
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
After resigning from the post of president of Microsoft in 2014 and from the board of directors last year, Bill Gates - fourth fortune in the world - had decided to devote himself largely to philanthropy, alongside his wife. His foundation, created with Melinda in 2000, is considered the largest private foundation in the world. In 2005, the now future ex-spouses were named "Personalities of the Year" by "Time" magazine. They also received in 2016 from the hands of Barack Obama the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a year later, the Legion of Honor, awarded by François Hollande.
