Bill and Melinda Gates: Reflecting on Their Divorce and Its Impact

Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates announced their split in May 2021 following 27 years of marriage. They were officially divorced three months later. Now, in a recent interview with Elle Magazine, the 60-year philanthropist briefly spoke about her split from the Microsoft co-founder.
French Gates’ comments come months after the Microsoft co-founder opened up about the divorce. “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years,” Gates told the Times of London. He also admitted that he had hoped their marriage would be as successful as that of his parents, Bill Sr. and Mary, who lived together for 45 years.The 60-year-old philanthropist reacted to her ex-husband calling their split “the mistake I most regret” during an interview with Elle for the magazine’s 2025 Women of Impact issue.Gates and French Gates announced their decision to go their separate ways after 27 years of marriage in May 2021. The couple share three children: daughters Jennifer Gates Nassar, 28, and Phoebe Gates, 22, and son Rory Gates, 25.
The tech giant went on to describe how his long marriage to French Gates kept him “grounded” during years of nearly unparalleled professional success and global fame.

“There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together,” he said. “When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful — that came during the time that we were together.
Melinda French Gates has reacted to her ex-husband Bill Gates’ statement that their divorce was the “mistake” he regrets the most.