Melinda Gates Opens Up on Divorce From Bill Gates and His Ties With Jeffrey Epstein in New Memoir

In The Next Day, Melinda Gates reveals emotional details behind her split with Bill Gates and expresses regret over his association with Jeffrey Epstein, calling him “evil personified.”

April 16, 2025: Melinda Gates has released a candid new memoir titled The Next Day, offering a rare glimpse into her personal life — particularly her high-profile divorce from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

While the book does not focus solely on the end of their marriage, Melinda does revisit key moments from 2019, which she identifies as the turning point in their relationship. In one powerful excerpt, Melinda reflects on a New York Times exposé that detailed Bill’s alleged extramarital affairs and ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

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“That October, things had reached a fever pitch when The New York Times published a deeply disturbing article…suggesting he had betrayed not only our marriage but also my values,” she writes.

Melinda had earlier voiced her discomfort with Bill’s meetings with Epstein during a 2022 interview, saying:

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“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him.”

She admits to meeting Epstein once herself, only to instantly regret it:

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“He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”

Bill Gates later echoed similar regrets in his own memoir Source Code, telling the Wall Street Journal:

“In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him. It was just a huge mistake.”

The memoir also references a Wall Street Journal report alleging that Epstein had threatened to expose Bill’s affair with Russian bridge player Mila Antonova after Gates refused to join Epstein’s charitable fund.

Melinda writes that leaving her marriage was one of the most difficult and defining decisions of her life, but ultimately, one of the most empowering. Both she and Bill have since moved on — she is dating entrepreneur Philip Vaughn, and Bill is in a relationship with philanthropist Paula Hurd.

Despite the turbulence, the couple continues to amicably co-parent their three children.

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Melinda Gates, Bill Gates, Jeffrey Epstein, Gates divorce, The Next Day memoir, Mila Antonova, Bill Gates affairs, Epstein blackmail, Philip Vaughn, Paula Hurd, Gates Foundation, Microsoft, celebrity memoirs, high-profile divorces