Melinda French Gates speaks out about Epstein emails allegations involving ex-husband Bill Gates

Melinda French Gates has responded publicly to newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails that reference her former husband Bill Gates, saying the claims revive “very, very painful times” from their marriage and should be addressed by those involved.

The documents, released by the US Department of Justice, include draft emails written by Epstein in which he alleged that the Microsoft co-founder had contracted a sexually transmitted infection during an affair with “Russian girls” and sought Epstein’s assistance. One draft dated July 18, 2013 includes explicit claims, which Bill Gates has firmly denied.

A spokesperson for Gates described the allegations as “absolutely absurd and completely false”, adding that the emails reflected Epstein’s attempts to defame Gates after failing to maintain a relationship with him. Gates has previously acknowledged that meeting Epstein was a mistake but has not been accused of any crime related to Epstein’s activities.

Speaking on NPR’s Wild Card podcast, Melinda French Gates addressed the renewed attention. “Whatever questions remain there of what I don’t — can’t even begin to know all of it — those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me,” she said.

She spoke more broadly about Epstein’s abuse of women and girls and the impact such revelations continue to have. “No girl, no girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him,” she said, describing the situation as “beyond heartbreaking”.

Reflecting on the personal impact, she added, “So for me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up, right, because [it] brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. But I have moved on from that.” She also said she was “happy to be away from all the muck that was there”.

Melinda and Bill Gates announced their divorce in 2021 after 27 years of marriage and share three children. In interviews and her memoir, The Next Day, Melinda has previously written about turmoil in the relationship, including Bill Gates’s infidelity and his association with Epstein.