‘I couldn’t trust what we had’: Melinda Gates addresses divorce from Bill Gates

Bill Gates’ ex-wife Melinda has spoken publicly for the first time since her divorce from the Microsoft founder, making bombshell claims about their 27-year marriage.

Trust was “broken” in tech billionaire Bill Gates’ marriage to now ex-wife Melinda French Gates, leading to their shock divorce.

In a new TV tell-all, Ms French Gates reflected on her “journey of healing” following her painful split from the Microsoft founder last year, after nearly three decades of marriage.

Ms French Gates toldCBS Morningshost Gayle King that she shed “a lot of tears for many days,” and recalled thinking, “How can this be? How can I get up? How am I going to move forward?”

“That’s part of the grieving process,” Ms French Gates said. “You’re grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime.”

Melinda French Gates opens up about divorce and her "journey of healing" https://t.co/JL5I2TXfqB

— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 2, 2022

This marks the first time she has spoken publicly about her divorce. Per the New York Post, Ms Grench Gates said she was in a state of grief after their 27 year marriage ended last May.

“I mean, this is painful stuff,” she told Ms King.

“And at the end of the day, though, I started on this journey of healing, and I feel like I’m starting to get to the other side.

“And I do feel like I’m turning a page in the chapter now. I mean, it’s 2022, and I’m actually really excited about what’s to come and life ahead for me.”

Ms French Gates was also asked about her ex-husband’s affair with a Microsoft staff member, which started in 2000.

Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates in 2017. Picture: Getty Images

Bill Gates at the 58th Munich Security Conference (MSC) in Munich last month. Picture: AFP

“I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that,” Ms French Gates said, according to the New York Post.

“It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened.

“There just came a point in time where there was enough there that I realised it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had.

‘I thought we had worked through some of that.’ Picture: AFP

In a preview clip, Ms King asked her: “Once trust is broken, isn’t it hard to get it back?”

“Very, it’s very hard to get it back, in any relationship,” Ms French Gates responded.

The couple finalised their divorce last year, amid reports that she was irate with her then-husband’s friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Mr Gates was also said to had an ongoing affair with a Microsoft employee and in 2019, stepped down from the tech company he founded when an investigation was launched.

Bill and Melinda co-founded the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation during their marriage, which is considered one of the largest charitable organisations in the world.

At the time divorce papers were filed, Mr Gates was worth an estimated $US130 billion and the former couple had not signed a prenuptial agreement.

In an interview shortly after their split, Mr Gates described it as “very sad milestone” and a source of “personal sadness”, per CNN.