Melinda French Gates has publicly responded to new details about her ex-husband, Bill Gates, in the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files, expressing profound sadness and calling for accountability from those involved. Her comments came in a preview of an upcoming NPR interview, where she emphasized the personal pain the revelations have caused and the need for her former husband and others to address the serious allegations.
The latest trove of documents, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, includes over three million pages of Epstein’s personal communications, naming numerous high-profile individuals. Among them is Bill Gates, with emails from Epstein alleging that Gates sought his assistance for various purposes, including facilitating encounters with married women and obtaining medication for a sexually transmitted disease. Epstein claimed in one email that Gates wanted to secretly administer antibiotics to Melinda French Gates, adding a layer of personal betrayal to the scandal.
In her interview with NPR’s Wild Card podcast, French Gates described feeling “unbelievable sadness” upon seeing her ex-husband’s name in the files. She stated, “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 made it clear that the responsibility lies with those accused, saying, “They need to answer to those things, not me,” and expressed relief at being “away from all the muck that was there.”
A spokesperson for Bill Gates has vehemently denied the allegations, telling NPR, “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.” This response echoes previous statements from Gates, who has expressed regret over his association with Epstein but maintained that no wrongdoing occurred on his part.
The Gates’ marriage, which lasted 27 years before ending in divorce in 2021, has been under public scrutiny since their separation. Reports have long suggested that Bill Gates’ ties to Epstein, a convicted sex offender, contributed to the breakdown of the relationship. French Gates has previously acknowledged meeting Epstein once out of curiosity, a decision she regretted, and has cited his influence as a factor in her decision to leave the marriage.
Since the divorce, Melinda French Gates has focused on her philanthropic work, stepping down as co-chair of the Gates Foundation in 2024 and rebranding it under her own initiatives. She now leads Pivotal Philanthropies Foundation, which received a significant portion of Gates’ wealth as part of their settlement. Despite the personal turmoil, she claims to be in a “beautiful place” in her life, using her experiences to advocate for justice and support for victims of abuse.
The release of the Epstein files has reignited discussions about the accountability of powerful figures and the systemic issues that enabled Epstein’s crimes. French Gates’ reaction underscores the human cost of such scandals, connecting her personal grief to the broader suffering of Epstein’s victims. She reflected on the young girls affected, saying, “I’m able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did that happen to those girls? At least for me, I’ve been able to move on in life, and I hope there’s some justice for those now-women.”
The full interview with Melinda French Gates is set to be released on Thursday, February 5, 2026, and is expected to provide further insights into her perspectives on the Epstein case and its aftermath. As the story develops, it continues to highlight the intersections of wealth, power, and personal responsibility in the ongoing reckoning with Epstein’s legacy.
