'Have to show up, be my best': Melinda Gates on working with Bill Gates after divorce

By Team Newsable | First Published Oct 6, 2022, 12:21 PM IST

Melinda French Gates said that she never thought she would get a divorce adding, “Unfortunately, I felt like I needed to take a different path. We knew that when the divorce was going to be a surprise people, and I felt bad about that. I gave every single piece of myself to this marriage."

While the globe was still reeling from the second wave of the Covid-19 epidemic, millionaire Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates startled everyone by announcing their divorce in May 2021. Melinda and Bill Gates, the power couple of business and philanthropy, divorced after 27 years of marriage. Since then, neither of them has had an easy road. In a recent interview, Melinda discussed her divorce.

"The odd thing about COVID is that it gave me the privacy to do what I needed to do. It's unbelievably painful, in innumerable ways, but I had the privacy to get through it," Melinda said. Switching from her personal tragedy to her professional dedication, Melinda explained how she continued to work with the person she was trying to avoid.

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“So even though I might be crying at 9 am and then have to be on a videoconference at 10 am with the person I’m leaving, I have to show up and be my best,” the former computer scientist and general manager at Microsoft revealed. This let her realise that she could accomplish it as a leader.

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When asked about her continued involvement with the Gates Foundation, Melinda stated, "The foundation calls me to do my best. We collaborate with incredible partners all around the world that were also battling through COVID."

"Unfortunately, I felt that I needed to pursue a new road," the 58-year-old said, adding that she never expected to have a divorce. We knew the divorce would catch many off guard, and I felt awful about it."

Meanwhile, Melinda acknowledged in another interview that sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had a role in their divorce, stating it was one of "many things" that contributed to the couple's split.

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