February 4, 2026 | 08:23 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Melinda French Gates, the former wife of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, said that reading about her ex-husband’s name in the recent release of millions of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein brought back painful personal memories.
Melinda acknowledged that the publication of the Epstein files has resurfaced distressing moments from her private life. She stressed that questions surrounding Bill Gates’ interactions with Epstein should be addressed by those directly involved, not by her.
"Whatever questions remain there -- 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 while promoting a new episode of NPR’s Wild Card podcast, as reported by TMZ on Tuesday.
According to CNN, Bill Gates’ past association with Epstein has been well documented. However, renewed scrutiny emerged after the US Department of Justice last Friday released more than three million pages of files related to the Epstein investigation.
Melinda said details contained in the documents revived painful memories from her marriage.
"Memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage. But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on," she said.
Melinda and Bill Gates announced their divorce in 2021, which was widely reported to have been influenced by Bill’s ties to Epstein.
Media reports said Melinda began consulting divorce lawyers about two years earlier, after rumors surfaced regarding her husband’s relationship with Epstein. She has publicly stated that she disapproved of that relationship.
The newly released files include unproven allegations claiming that Bill Gates contracted a sexually transmitted disease from a Russian woman and planned to secretly give antibiotics to Melinda to prevent infection.
A spokesperson for Bill Gates denied the claims, calling them “ridiculous” and “completely false.”
"These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein’s frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame."
It remains unclear who authored draft messages dated 2013 that were found in Epstein’s email account. The messages, written in a stream-of-consciousness style, appear to express feelings of betrayal toward the Microsoft co-founder.
The drafts reference alleged marital tensions between Gates and Melinda, discussions of business dealings, concerns about sexually transmitted diseases, and failed ventures.
Bill Gates has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing in connection with Jeffrey Epstein.
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