Bill Gates Says He Has Regrets About Affair With Microsoft Employee

Bill Gates has opened up about the regrets he has over his affair with a Microsoft colleague.

The billionaire - who co-founded the technology corporation - stepped down from the board in March 2020, before splitting up with his wife of 27 years, Melinda, in May 2021.

Their divorce was finalised earlier this week, and now he's opened up about his affair around 20 years ago.

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When CNN's Anderson Cooper asked him about it, the 65-year-old said: "Certainly, I think everyone does [have regrets].

"But it's a time of reflection and at this point I need to go forward. My work is very important to me.

"Within the family we'll heal as best we can and learn from what happened."

He went on to praise Melinda and said they were hoping to continue their working partnership through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

He said: "Melinda's a great person and that partnership that we had coming to an end is a great source of great personal sadness.

"We are communicating and working at the foundation and so that partnership we're going to try to continue.

"Melinda has incredible strengths that she brings that help the foundation be better.

"We've always enjoyed our work together. The two of us can go out and work with leaders and help build the organization so that would definitely be the best thing for the foundation."

The couple were married in 1994 and share three kids.

A spokeswoman for the billionaire said in May that the affair ended 'amicably' and was not the reason behind his resignation from the board.

The spokeswoman said: "There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably.

"Bill's decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier."

Microsoft said it was conducting a 'thorough investigation'.

A spokesperson said: "Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000.

"A committee of the board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation.

"Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern."

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When he left Microsoft's board last year, Gates said he was stepping down to focus on philanthropy.

He said: "I have made the decision to step down from both of the public boards on which I serve - Microsoft and Berkshire Hathaway - to dedicate more time to philanthropic priorities including global health and development, education, and my increasing engagement in tackling climate change.

"The leadership at the Berkshire companies and Microsoft has never been stronger, so the time is right to take this step."

Topics: Celebrity, Microsoft, US News, bill gates

Jake Massey

Jake Massey is a journalist at LADbible. He graduated from Newcastle University, where he learnt a bit about media and a lot about living without heating. After spending a few years in Australia and New Zealand, Jake secured a role at an obscure radio station in Norwich, inadvertently becoming a real-life Alan Partridge in the process. From there, Jake became a reporter at the Eastern Daily Press. Jake enjoys playing football, listening to music and writing about himself in the third person.

@jakesmassey