Bill and Melinda Gates' Relationship: A Timeline of Their Marriage, Life Post-Divorce

After their 27-year relationship, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates had decided to call it quits as they announced to the world the end of their marriage.

The couple issued a statement saying that they have decided to end their marriage after a great deal of working on it.

In their statement, they said that they will continue their work together at the foundation. However, they added that they no longer believe they can grow together as a couple, according to a U.S. Magazine report.

Bill and Melinda Gates's Relationship: Meeting and Marriage

Bill Gates and Melinda met in Microsoft in 1987, which Gates had co-founded. Gates was the CEO of Microsoft, while Melinda worked in the product development of the company.

Gates said that Melinda at the time had other boyfriends, while he had Microsoft. He said that it was hardly love at first sight and at first, they were not trying to be serious about seeing each other, according to a CNN report.

In 1993, the tech mogul had proposed to Melinda. They were seen sharing a Coca-Cola at the Seattle Sonics basketball game shortly after getting engaged.

The two got married in 1994 in Hawaii, wherein Warren Buffet was one of the guests. The couple had tried to keep the marriage as private as possible by renting the empty rooms where their guests were and hiring all the island's helicopters.

Reporters and photographers were intercepted while working their way to the Gates' wedding. They were issued a warning and was said that they would be arrested and prosecuted by Lanai Co. if the warning was violated, according to a Seattle Times report.

In 1996, they welcomed their first daughter, who they named Jennifer. She is currently attending the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City.

Three years after, the couple's son, Rory, was born. In 2002, their second daughter and youngest child, Phoebe, came to the family picture.

Divorce and Post-Divorce

In 2021, the couple decided to end their 27-year marriage. The divorce has shaken the world as they share a foundation, wherein they do philanthropic works.

In addition, issues had resurfaced regarding the potential causes of why the marriage had ended. This includes Gates' association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and some accounts of employees of Gates trying to go out with them.

Gates had reportedly turned a blind eye to Epstein's reputation and conviction as he reportedly hoped that Epstein would help him secure the Nobel Peace Prize, according a Business Insider report.

One staff said that they knew Epstein was not "squeaky clean."

One former employee also said that the Nobel Peace Prize is what Gates wants more than anything else in the world.

The former staffer said that Gates was disappointed that it did not work out for him.

In addition, Gates was also being investigated by an outside law firm hired by Microsoft board members after one company's engineers claimed that she had a years-long sexual relationship with Gates in 2020.

Gates then stepped down from the board of the company, according to a People report.

Gates earlier said that his decision to step down was because he wanted to focus more on philanthropic activities at the time.

The couple had also established a foundation, where it was recently reported that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation had sold all of its shares in Apple and Twitter before announcing their divorce, according to another Business Insider report.

The foundation trust had already liquidated its shares in Apple and Twitter as of March 30. It was believed to be around hundreds of millions of dollars.

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