Bill and Melinda Gates’ Reason For Divorce Explored: Is It Because of Another Wealthy Man?
Bill and Melinda Gates rocked the entire world when they announced they were headed to divorce after 27 years of marriage.
However, a new report suggested that perhaps their split has been looming for some time already.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Melinda contacted divorce lawyers in 2019 about separating from her billionaire husband.
The outlet reported that the philanthropist has been in contact with numerous law firms for two years now regarding her marriage to Bill.
People familiar with her life-changing decision and those who have seen the divorce documents revealed that the mom-of-three saw her relationship with the Microsoft founder as "irretrievably broken."
When the divorce announcement was publicized last week, people all over the globe are wondering why they have come to the decision.
But it's only now when the Wall Street Journal has somehow cleared up the confusion and questions people are asking.
Bill and Melinda Gates' Possible Reason for Divorce
The publication cited that Melinda Gates had concerns about her husband's interactions with a convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.
Her concerns about Bill Gates' connections and deals with the financier dated as far as 2013 when they met Epstein.
A former employee told the WSJ that Bill continued his relationship with Epstein, who was worth $500 million at the time of his death in 2019, despite Melinda telling her husband she was uncomfortable with the disgraced financier.
In 2019, the New York Times reported that Bill met with Epstein multiple times and even stayed late once into his Manhattan townhouse.
According to the outlet's sources, Melinda made several phone calls in Oct. 2019 after the Times' report broke.
That same year, a spokesperson for Bill said that he "regrets" having meetings with Epstein, which mainly was all about philanthropy.
Bridgitt Arnott said at the time, "Bill Gates regrets ever meeting with Epstein and recognizes it was an error in judgment to do so."
According to The Daily Beast, Bill Gates' relationship with Epstein also reportedly "haunted" Melinda throughout the years, since the billionaire continued to have a relationship with him even after pleading guilty to soliciting an underage girl in 2008.
Read also: Nayel Nassar Net Worth 2021: Is Bill Gates' Future Son-in-Law Richer Than Jennifer Gates?
Another Reason For Gates' Divorce
In Melinda Gates' book "The Moment of Lift," she admitted it was difficult to be heard by her husband after revealing to him her desire to get more responsibility.
She also had difficulties living constantly in her husband's shadow.
She wrote, "I've been trying to find my voice as I've been speaking next to Bill, and that can make it hard to be heard."
Melinda further revealed that a request to co-author the yearly Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation letter, which was usually written by Bill, brought a massive strain in the almost three-decade marriage.
The 56-year-old wrote, "I felt, 'Well, this just might end the marriage right here.'"
She added, "I told him that there are some issues where my voice can make an impact, and in those cases, I should be speaking - separately or along with him."
Melinda continued, "It got hot. We both got angry. It was a big test for us - not about how you agree but about what you do when you can't agree. And we took a long time to agree."
Bill Gates has a net worth of $130 billion while his wife Melinda is worth $2.4 billion.
Their divorce comes two years after another high-profile billionaire, Jeff Bezos, finalized his divorce from his wife of 25 years, MacKenzie Scott.
Jeff gave MacKenzie a quarter of their joint stocks in Amazon worth $36 billion, instantly making her the world's 22nd richest person.
