Why Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce caught everyone off guard
The United States had no idea for a second that Melinda would be spending the summer as a bachelor.
Compared to some of his tech mogul counterparts who make their workforce work to death, jeopardize democracy, or try to buy Hawaii, Bill Gates has often been seen as a straight guy, somebody. one who hung up early to settle down and give his billions. A choice that largely contributed to the legend of "Bill and Melinda", of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, who projected an image of philanthropic and marital stability.
They were seen as America's technocratic uncle and aunt, always ready to step in, pay surprising sums and, on occasion, talk nonsense. Just a few years ago, Bill posted a photo of the two of them on Twitter to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary, with the caption, "I can't wait to spend another twenty-five more years laughing with you."
Happy anniversary, @melindagates. I can’t wait to spend 25 more years laughing together. https://t.co/LMJ126c3ua
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) January 1, 2019
So it was a shock when Bill and Melinda dropped their bombshell on Monday: after twenty-seven years of marriage, they decided to divorce. It wasn't supposed to be like this. It's true that former tech star couple Jeff Bezos and Mackenzie Scott set a precedent by going their separate ways a few years ago, but Bill wasn't giving off the alpha, wild energy of a Bezos. Bill and Melinda looked like Al and Tipper Gore, or Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, or any other couple so deeply rooted in culture you can't even remember their separation. Maybe some of us mistakenly thought that the Lindy Effect would apply: when you've been in a relationship for so long, you stay together, right?
Melinda in the center of attention
As a result, America reacted to this news by asking some timeless questions, and others very 2021: First, how are they going to distribute their wealth, which is estimated to be around $ 124 billion? (We don't really know yet.) Has a prenuptial agreement been made? (TMZ says no, but the New York Times says "there would be.") What will happen to their foundation, whose endowment has reached 50 billion? (They are expected to continue leading it together.) Most important: Is Melinda ready for a boiling hot post-Covid summer?
It's really about Melinda that everyone is wondering. Divorce doesn't automatically make Bill a Bezos-style bastard, and the end of a marriage doesn't mean a personal failure. (He already has quite a few under her belt.) But it looks like Melinda Gates is already becoming a popular feminist heroine, despite the contradiction inherent in her billionaire status. After the divorce was announced, there were jokes about how Melinda chose her timing to separate: she and Mackenzie Scott could be having a hot summer with girls together.
Melinda Gates, Mackenzie Bezos and me leaving the club at 4am this hot girl summer pic.twitter.com/9Gm3P55kjk
— it’s me sally darr (@sallydarr) May 3, 2021
Or they could work to fight global warming. (And why not both?) Could Melinda have taken inspiration from the new series Made for Love, which tells the story of a woman who decides to escape a stifling marriage and leaves her husband, a billionaire of technology?
You think Melinda watched Made For Love and was like... aight I’m out
— Chris Murphy (@christress) May 3, 2021
Is it only a matter of time before Melinda is pictured with the most popular man in Hollywood today, Pete Davidson? (No, no, he's too busy with a certain newly single actress.)
Melinda Gates & Pete Davidson will be photographed holding hands on Larchmont next week
— Melissa Stetten (@MelissaStetten) May 3, 2021
Prior to this week, Melinda Gates didn't have a particularly big impact on pop culture - she was mostly seen as the woman who owns half of the foundation. When I was younger, I remember thinking, "It's good that he left his name there too." (By the way, in their divorce announcement, they reversed the order of their names and signed “Melinda Gates and Bill Gates”.)
— Bill Gates (@BillGates) May 3, 2021
A secret romance
Their story is full of equally embarrassing details - or perhaps, in their own way, admirable: Like former Bezos, Bill and Melinda met at work. In their case, it was at Microsoft in 1987, when she had just graduated from college and he was the CEO of the company, a situation that would likely attract more criticism today than at the time. time. But with a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in business administration, Melinda was hardly a trophy wife. And besides that, Bill was not her first famous boyfriend: at Duke [American university, editor's note] Melinda dated heir to the gum emperor William Wrigley Jr., according to the Seattle Times.
