The Gates divorce because of Bill's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, says Wall Street Journal
The separation of the Gates couple had been in the air for two years, according to the American daily. Melinda would indeed be worried about the relationship between her husband and the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
The announcement of the divorce of the Gates couple last Monday surprised more than one. Yet, according to the Wall Street Journal (subscribers), this separation had been in the air at least since 2019. It was Melinda Gates, 56, who took the initiative for the divorce. She would have consulted several specialized lawyers. According to several people close to the couple, and documents that the daily was able to consult, she had said for two years that their couple was "irreparably broken".
The Gates, who have known each other for 27 years, have been married for 25 years and have three children, all adults today.
Ex-collaborator shares Melinda Gates' unease over Epstein
A week ago, the couple announced their separation via Twitter:
"After careful consideration, and after doing a long job on our relationship, we have decided to end our marriage ... We will continue to work for the foundation, but we no longer believe that we can grow old together as a couple in this new chapter of our lives ".
The Gates have refrained from giving the reasons for this separation.
But according to several sources cited by the newspaper, including a former employee of the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation, Melinda Gates' concerns about her husband's proximity to Jeffrey Epstein date back to 2013 and would be the cause of the divorce. . Epstein died in New York City jail in 2019 on charges of sex trafficking. He was accused of having attracted many young women, some of them minors, to give him massages, but allegedly raped them.
According to documents seen by the Wall Street Journal, Melinda Gates and her advisers spoke to each other several times in 2019 when the New York Times revealed that Bill Gates had met Jeffrey Epstein several times in the past. One evening in particular, Bill Gates spent the evening with Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan. However, this house is one of the homes that the billionaire used to attract many young women. Bridgitt Arnold, spokesperson for Bill Gates, said at the time that the Microsoft founder was meeting with Jeffrey Epstein to discuss topics related to philanthropy.
"Bill Gates even regrets having met Epstein and admits to having made an error in judgment by being with him," she said at the time.
Théo Hetsch, journalist with the investigation unit of Radio France, met in 2019 Gabriel (assumed name), former concierge of the luxurious Parisian apartment of Jeffrey Epstein. Gabriel had notably claimed to have served dinner in the past for the Gates couple who came to visit Jeffrey Epstein.
Melinda, women's rights activist
Melinda Gates, has always been in favor of defending the rights of women and girls. She reportedly told her husband as early as 2013 that she was uncomfortable with Jeffrey Epstein after meeting him with her husband. Despite everything, and according to the ex-employee quoted by the Wall Street Journal, Bill Gates and other members of the Gates Foundation continued their relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
In September 2019, Bill Gates said: “I met him. I had no working relationship or friendship with him ”. Bill Gates, 65, said late last week that he was sticking to those 2019 statements. In early 2020, the Gates couple surprised everyone by announcing they were not going to the World Economic Summit in Davos in January. In March 2020, Bill Gates resigned from Microsoft's board of directors, saying he wanted to focus more on his philanthropic actions. In fact, according to the Wall Street Journal, the two parties were already in discussions with a mediator to settle their separation. Melinda Gates was already in talks with the divorce lawyer for VIPs like Michael Bloomberg and Ivana Trump. For his part, Bill Gates called on the law firm which includes Mark Zuckerberg among its clients.
The May 3 divorce filing stipulates that the couple's fortune estimated at $ 130 billion by Forbes would be shared between the two spouses.
