Melinda French Gates, the ex-wife of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, opens up about her divorce and Bill’s affair in a CBS Morning interview airing Thursday March 3.
The interview with host Gayle King is French Gates’ her first, exclusive, tell-all interview since divorcing from her billionaire husband in May 2021, according to CBS News. A trailer for the interview shows French Gates and King discussing issues of gender equity and her divorce.
Melinda French Gates tells @GayleKing it’s possible to regain trust in a relationship, “but it’s very hard to get it back in any relationship.”
She opens up about fighting for gender equity — as well as her divorce, in our exclusive interview, Thursday. pic.twitter.com/yV1Xn6Td4z
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 2, 2022
“Once trust is broken, isn’t it hard to get it back?” King asked. French Gates responded, “Very. It’s very hard to get it back, in any relationship.”
Bill Gates stepped down from the board of Microsoft after it was revealed that fellow board members launched an investigation into a sexual affair he had with a female employee. The board opened the investigation in 2019, pushing Gates to step down at the time. He was re-elected in December later that year, before he chose to resign again in March 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported. (RELATED: Bill Gates: ‘It Was A Huge Mistake’ To Spend Time With Epstein)
King asked how French Gates initially responded to the news of Gates’ affair.
“Bill Gates admitted that he had had an affair in the marriage, and at that time did you think, ‘We’re going to work through this?’ How did you handle something like that?” King asked.
“Well, I certainly believe in forgiveness,” French Gates replied. “So, I thought we had worked through some of that. It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
“You’re grieving a loss of something you thought…you had for your lifetime”: In an exclusive interview with @GayleKing, Melinda French Gates opens up about the grieving process after she ended her marriage with Bill Gates.
Watch the full interview tomorrow on #CBSMornings. pic.twitter.com/iDt8u14pu4
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) March 2, 2022
French Gates said she is optimistic about the future and is “turning a page” in her life, and said she is “really excited about what’s to come and life ahead for me.”