Billionaire philanthropist Melinda French Gates has said the release of new Jeffrey Epstein-related documents naming her former husband, Bill Gates, has reopened “very painful” memories from their marriage and divorce.
Speaking on NPR’s Wild Card podcast, French Gates said the latest revelations brought back deep personal pain, describing her reaction as one of “unbelievable sadness.”
“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,” she said.
French Gates added that she is relieved to be removed from the controversy surrounding Epstein and those linked to him. “I am so happy to be away from all the muck,” she said.
The former couple divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage.
Bill Gates Denies Epstein Allegations
Documents released last week by the United States Department of Justice include claims made by Epstein referencing Bill Gates, including an allegation that the Microsoft co-founder contracted a sexually transmitted disease. Gates has strongly denied the claim.
“These claims from a proven, disgruntled liar are absolutely absurd and completely false,” a spokesperson for Bill Gates said.
There has been no allegation of wrongdoing against Gates by any of Epstein’s victims, and his appearance in the documents does not imply criminal conduct.
“Not My Questions To Answer” — French Gates
In the interview, French Gates made clear that lingering questions about Epstein’s network are not hers to resolve.
“Whatever questions remain there of what, I 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.
US media reports have previously indicated that French Gates was unhappy about her husband’s association with Epstein prior to their separation. After the divorce was announced, Bill Gates publicly acknowledged having had an affair with a Microsoft employee in 2019.
What The Documents Show
The allegations involving Gates appear within more than three million documents released by US authorities. Among them are two emails dated July 18, 2013, which appear to have been drafted by Epstein.
Both emails originated from Epstein’s own email account and were sent back to the same address. No email account linked to Gates appears in the records, and neither message is signed.
One email is framed as a resignation letter from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, claiming Epstein had been required to procure medicine for Gates “to deal with the consequences of sex with Russian girls.” The second email, beginning “dear Bill,” alleges that Gates attempted to conceal a sexually transmitted infection, including from his then-wife.
Gates and his representatives have consistently maintained that his interactions with Epstein were limited to “several dinners” centred on a philanthropic idea that never materialised.
Reacting to the latest document release, Gates’s spokesperson said the records reflect Epstein’s anger at losing access to Gates and demonstrate “the lengths he would go to entrap and defame.”
Epstein Network Under Renewed Scrutiny
The newly released files provide further insight into Epstein’s wide network of politicians, business figures and celebrities, some of whom maintained contact with him even after his 2008 conviction for soliciting sex from a 14-year-old girl.
Epstein died in a New York jail in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
