Bill Gates told his golf buddies his marriage was 'loveless' and that he and Melinda had been 'living separate lives' for some time, according to a report.
A source told the New York Post the Microsoft founder, 65, had opened up about his relationship long before the couple announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage.
'Bill did talk to his close friends on the golf course,' the insider said.
'He told them a while back that the marriage was loveless, that it had been over for some time and they were living separate lives.'
Gates is an avid golfer and has reportedly been holed up at an exclusive golf club in California where he owns a mansion since news of their split broke.
Melinda, 56, and Bill announced their divorce last Monday with dual tweets. Melinda reportedly began consulting divorce lawyers as far back as October 2019.
She did so around the same time as Bill's friendship with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein hit the headlines. There is no suggestion that Bill did anything wrong.
Bill Gates (with Melina in 2017) is said to have told his golf buddies that his marriage was 'loveless' and he and Melinda had been 'living separate lives' for some time
Gates - a keen golf enthusiast - is pictured on a golf course with Warren Buffett back in 2015
The Microsoft founder, 65, is understood to have been based at The Vintage Club (above) in Indian Wells for the last three months
'He told them a while back that the marriage was loveless, that it had been over for some time and they were living separate lives,' the source said of Gates. The Vintage Club above
A source told the Post news of the couple's divorce was 'no surprise' because Bill's links to Epstein had been a 'bone of contention' in their marriage.
'The split is no surprise to me,' they said.
'And any friendship with Epstein would have been a bone of contention for Melinda. There is no way that Melinda would have wanted to spend time with Epstein.'
However, despite being upset about Epstein, Melinda reportedly struggled with her decision to divorce Bill because of her strict Roman Catholic faith, claimed another source.
The insider said Melinda is hoping to get an annulment from the Vatican after their civil divorce is finalized.
Bill is understood to have been staying at the exclusive golf complex The Vintage Club in Indian Wells for the last three months.
He was spotted there this week with eldest daughter Jennifer, 25, and her partner, the Egyptian show jumper Nayel Nassar, Page Six said Tuesday.
A source told the website: 'Bill clearly saw this divorce coming for a long time because he's been there for around three months.
'It is the perfect place for Bill to hide out from anyone who wants to question him about his divorce or his alleged ties to Epstein.'
The Vintage Club costs $250,000 to join. It boasts a spa, restaurants and two 18-hole golf courses, dubbing itself 'one of the United States' most prestigious' golf clubs.
Other members include Charles Koch and Dennis Washington.
Gates bought a home there in 1990 for $12.5 million. That is said to have six bedrooms and nine bathrooms.
In an interview with DailyMail.com, his biographer James Wallace, 74, said Gates was 'no choir boy' in his early days as a tech founder.
Gates was spotted at The Vintage Club this week with the couple's daughter Jennifer
Daughter Jennifer has said their family is going through a 'challenging stretch of time'. 'I won't personally comment further on anything around the separation, but please know that your kind words and support mean the world to me,' she wrote on Instagram
Bill Gates with Melina in 2019. The couple announced they are divorcing last Monday
'A lot of those Microsoft kids back then, they were young guys in pizza-stained t-shirts for two or three days working on software code,' the former Seattle Post-Intelligencer investigative reporter said.
'Then they would have some pretty wild parties, where they would go out and get strippers in Seattle and bring them over to Bill's home.
'He wasn't a choir boy back then, he wasn't just this little computer nerd. He did have a life back then.'
Wallace wrote that Gates's 'womanizing' also put strain on his nascent relationship with his now-estranged wife Melinda.
Speculation around his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Silicon Valley venture capitalist Ann Winblad was also immediate following the announcement of the Gates' split.
Despite breaking up in 1987, Gates and Winblad still vacationed together alone for a weekend every year throughout his marriage to Melinda.
Melinda, 56, and Bill announced their divorce last Monday with dual tweets. The Vintage Club in Indian Wells is pictured
Melinda began consulting divorce lawyers in October 2019, according to a report. She did so around the same time as her Bill's friendship with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein hit the headlines. There is no suggestion that Bill did anything wrong. The Vintage Club is pictured
The Vintage Club costs $250,000 to join; it boasts a spa, restaurants and two 18-hole golf courses
Other members include Charles Koch and Dennis Washington. Gates bought a home there in 1990 for $12.5 million. That is said to have six bedrooms and nine bathrooms
In an interview with DailyMail.com, his biographer James Wallace, 74, said Gates was 'no choir boy' in his early days as a tech founder. The Vintage Club is pictured
On Sunday Melinda posed with her three children and hailed mothers' 'resilience' in her first Twitter message since announcing her divorce.
The mom of three posted an inspirational message and photo of her surrounded by her children - daughters Phoebe, 18, and Jennifer, 25, and son Rory, 21 - at younger ages for Mother's Day.
'I love being their mother. Whatever Mother's Day means to you—a day to celebrate a mom, honor a memory, or reflect on your own resilience—I hope your day is a meaningful one,' she tweeted.
Melinda said in 2019 that her marriage was 'irretrievably broken' and had been working with lawyers since then to prepare to dissolve it, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Bill flew with Epstein on Epstein's jet from New Jersey to Palm Beach, Florida, as far back as 2013 - four years after Epstein had served time behind bars for soliciting a minor under the age of 18 for sex.
Melinda had been concerned with her husband's relationship with the pedophile, who killed himself in his New York jail cell in 2019, since 2013, the Journal reported.
Her concerns apparently came to a head several years later: She had been talking to New York divorce lawyer Robert Stephan Cohen as far back as October 2019.
It was that same month that the New York Times reported that Bill had met with Epstein several times, and once stayed late at his townhouse in New York.
DailyMail.com at the time also reported the flight, citing flight records.
Bill, 65, and Melinda, 56, met in 1987 while she was working at Microsoft, the company he founded. That same year, Bill became the world's youngest billionaire at the age of 31
The couple married in Hawaii in 1994 and would go on to establish the world's largest charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2000
A spokeswoman for Gates said at the time that the meetings had focused on philanthropy.
Her lawyer Cohen has represented Michael Bloomberg, Henry Kravis and Ivana Trump in their divorces.
Bill has been speaking to lawyers including Ronald Olson, a partner at the firm Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, who has represented Mark Zuckerberg and is a board member at Berkshire Hathaway, where he sat alongside Gates and Warren Buffett, a close friend of Bill.
Bill and Melinda Gates had met Epstein in 2013, and Melinda reportedly told Bill that she found him creepy and did not think they should be associated with him.
Epstein had by that point already served time in a Florida prison, being sentenced to 18 months on sex crimes charges in a 2008 plea deal.
In was in 2013 that the Microsoft founder also flew on Epstein's private jet, dubbed the 'Lolita Express', from New Jersey to Palm Beach, Florida, according to flight records.
Despite Melinda's concerns, Gates and some staff from their Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation maintained ties with Epstein. The predator killed himself in a Manhattan jail in August 2019, where he was awaiting further serious sex charges.
After the initial expose of his meetings, Gates in September 2019 told The Wall Street Journal: 'I met him. I didn't have any business relationship or friendship with him.'
The divorce filing was signed on May 3 this year- she signed her divorce petition in Bellevue, Washington, near the family home and the foundation's headquarters.
He signed the papers from Palm Desert, California - close to The Vintage Club.
The pair - one of the world's richest couples, with a fortune of $130 billion - waited until their youngest child, Phoebe, turned 18 in September to formally announce the split, according to a report.
The three children will inherit $10 million each, their parents had previously announced - all the rest will be given to charity, under The Giving Pledge.
There doesn't appear to be a specific incident that triggered their split, which a source told PEOPLE was the result of a 'combo of things.'
Daughter Jennifer has said their family is going through a 'challenging stretch of time'.
'I won't personally comment further on anything around the separation, but please know that your kind words and support mean the world to me,' she wrote on Instagram.
The divorce filing was signed on May 3 this year- she signed her divorce petition in Bellevue, Washington, near the family home and the foundation's headquarters. He signed the papers from Palm Desert, California - close to The Vintage Club
The pair - one of the world's richest couples, with a fortune of $130 billion - waited until their youngest child, Phoebe, turned 18 in September to formally announce the split, according to a report
In a joint statement posted to their Twitter accounts on Monday, the former couple said their work with their foundation will continue but their marriage will not.
'After a great deal of thought and a lot of work, we have made the decision to end our marriage.
'Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.
'We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue to work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.'
Bill, 65, and Melinda, 56, met in 1987 while she was working at Microsoft, the company he founded.
That same year, Bill became the world's youngest billionaire at the age of 31.
The couple married in Hawaii in 1994 and would go on to establish the world's largest charitable foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in 2000.
Since then, it has contributed more than $50 billion to causes including eradicating polio and malaria. The foundation has also been a major investor in coronavirus treatments.
No comments:
Post a Comment