Bill and Melinda Gates announce divorce after 27 years

[turbinetree]

Source: The Guardian

Pair said in statement posted on Twitter ‘we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple’

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Bill and Melinda Gates are getting divorced because they “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple”, the pair said in a statement.

The tech entrepreneur and his wife, who have been married 27 years, are among the richest people on the planet and also a huge driving force in the world of global philanthropy.

In a statement posted on Twitter, the couple said they would continue to work together at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which they run together and is the main arm for their operations around the world, especially in the cause of fighting diseases.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/may/03/bill-gates-divorce-melinda-gates-billionaire-couple

[Ocelot II]

1. He's not much to look at, but neither am I.

I'll take him, though.

[guillaumeb]

4. Nice!! eom

[LisaL]

8. But there is a lot to look at in his bank account.

[Ocelot II]

9. Exactly. I could ogle that all day.

[LisaL]

31. I think a lot of people right now are dreaming about being

Mrs. Gates version 2.0.

[Polybius]

52. Hell, I'll marry his ex-wife

Talk about a nice settlement lol.

[Rorey]

11. Sorry, you're too late

https://democraticunderground.com/10181504362

[TexasBushwhacker]

34. He's not bad looking for 65

It looks like he takes pretty good care of himself.

[cilla4progress]

2. Hmmmmm....

one wonders what this means?

Anyway...none of my biz, I guess!

[NurseJackie]

3. After 27 years, how much more "growing" did they expect to do?

My husband and I aren't "growing" (except around the waist) but at some point you just have to accept that the "novelty" of being married wears-off and you settle down into a comfortable routine... just relax and enjoy what time remains.

[lucca18]

20. So true!

We have been married 35 years, and I feel the same way.

[pnwmom]

24. Well, you grow through every personal and family challenge.

Most of us have them, even if we've been married that long.

And the Covid year was quite a challenge for many couples.

[TexasBushwhacker]

35. Well, we don't know how long they've been unhappy

My parents were unhappily married for 35 years. Finally my mother said ENOUGH!

[NH Ethylene]

43. A lot of divorces take place just when the kids are ready to be on their own.

I suspect many couples stay together until that point, for the kids.

[SunSeeker]

57. Yup. Their youngest child is now 18. I'm guessing that was what they were waiting for. nt

[Demnation]

5. Well, BFD.

[NullTuples]

6. I wonder if this has anything to do with his stance on vaccines

His public stance on philanthropy has shifted in the last year(s), he now proclaims as a self-appointed oracle of truth that wealthy nations should not have to support poor nations in the fight against COVID. As a specific example, he feels that despite receiving massive amounts of public funding for the development of the vaccines, patents should not be suspended for poor countries because Intellectual Property must be respected. It's like he's 21 years old again and just sent out his infamous Open Letter to Hobbyists regarding the sharing of software code.

[SunSeeker]

58. Exactly what I was thinking. Melinda must have been very unhappy about that.

Last edited Tue May 4, 2021, 04:17 AM - Edit history (1)

And I'm guessing she was also very unhappy about reports Bill Gates spent several evenings at Jeffery Epstein's house in New York:

The billionaire is also dogged by a relationship he started with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2011 after Epstein had served jail time for soliciting prostitution from a minor and was forced to register as a sex offender. The New York Times reported on the details of Gates and Epstein’s relationship in 2019 after Epstein took his own life in prison. Several people familiar with their relationship said Gates went to Epstein’s New York home at least three times and stayed late into the night on at least one occasion. 

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/us_60905eeee4b0ccb91c3509ae

[GETPLANING]

7. People give up too easily.

After 35 years of being married to a woman who would be a challenge for anyone, I can say that if you want it to work, you can make it work.

[JI7]

10. Usually in these cases they had already been emotionally apart

for years. I think it's better to move on and enjoy life with others.

[Rorey]

12. If BOTH parties want it to work, that's possible

I'm sure that's what you meant.

[Skittles]

42. or maybe people just know they can do better

ya know?

[aggiesal]

13. How many people in this DU forum believe that 1 or both cheated on the other? ...

I know the feeling.
32 years with spouse, 27 married before she felt that the neighbor was a better fit!

[tinrobot]

17. Sometimes the marriage is over long before the cheating begins.

After 27 years of raising kids, starting a foundation, and having such a high-profile lifestyle, I imagine breaking up is more complicated than staying together.

If one or the other cheated, it was probably a long time coming.

[kimbutgar]

14. I wonder if a third party is involved in this marriage ending

One doesn’t just end a marriage and walk away unless they have someone to walk away with.

But this will taking a big chunk out of his money in the divorce settlement.

[LisaL]

16. It wouldn't surprise me if that is the deal.

NT

[DENVERPOPS]

25. Who is the other wife of an uber rich guy

who divorced, took half the incredible amount of money and started giving it out to worthwhile charities continuously....?

Spielberg????? I can't remember anything these days.....

[Karadeniz]

26. I think that was Bezos' wife, wasn't it?

[dhol82]

28. Bingo!

[Sgent]

56. Gates

was already one of the richest men in the world when they got married -- and she was a multimillionaire in her own right (since most early Microsoft employees were paid in stock options). I imagine she will be taken care of, but it probably won't be the asset division like Amazon's Bezos.

In addition, Gates plans on leaving all his money to charity except 10 million per kid.

[AllaN01Bear]

15. not suprised at all. it was at his wifes instance that he do the the money donations .

he grumbled about it.

[dhol82]

29. That's interesting. Did not know that.

[LisaL]

33. Are you confusing him with somebody else?

NT

[Deminpenn]

46. Sure that wasn't Gates' dad who was the driver behind

the philantrophy? I seem to recall that.

[Chakaconcarne]

18. That sucks...

Wish them both well.

[Heartstrings]

19. Hopefully they will be able to move on to the next stage of their lives as friends

and settle their own affairs with the grace and compassion they have tried to foster with their charitable giving.

Divorce is sometimes the bravest thing a person can choose, especially after a long marriage. It’s rarely an easy decision, yet it honors the other person by recognizing that what worked before isn’t working now. I hope their next chapter includes healing and friendship with and for each other.

[pnwmom]

32. They must think they can since they will both continue at the Foundation. n/t

[Miguelito Loveless]

21. Why do these people think

we care about their personal drama?

[NH Ethylene]

45. Probably because we click into threads like this and comment. n/t

[Grey5]

22. I only wish the both all the very best. nt

[ZonkerHarris]

23. The vaccine's nanobots didn't work on Melinda.

[IA8IT]

27. Wat to go John Oliver you home wrecker!!

Skip to 9:40

John Oliver dissing Melinda Gates nano bot vaccine BS rumor

[Marcuse]

30. When the world is not enough.

[FailureToCommunicate]

36. Wait, so money DOESN'T buy happiness?

I guess I've been misinformed.

[quakerboy]

41. Sometimes finding a new path in personal relationships is happiness

And the money buys them both the ability to leave a relationship and yet still be financially secure. Divorce financially wrecks a lot of folks. So this could be exactly money buying them happiness.

[Kablooie]

37. They should give it a little more time. They really need to get to know each other first.

[Devil Child]

38. Take him to the cleaners Melinda!

[Dukkha]

39. The marriage is now a blue screen of death

ctrl-alt-delete

[hydrolastic]

50. I see what you did

It made me chuckle.

[babydollhead]

40. I can not judge the person I raised children with as a human, nor they, me.

having kids and raising them is something that I did every day and every night. Every breath in and out was about us growing up as a family. I built my life around my whole family. Last kid finally moved out in early Fall, last year. I thought it was time for my husband and I to have our time. In March he side blinded me by telling me he was done, that he was in love with an old girlfriend, and he was moving. He quit his job and the marriage the same day (after 30 years of both) he packed a back pack, left his house key, said"well I have everything I care about in this bag" and high tailed it out of this life. 3 grown kids, 25, 28, and 29, are so sad and mad at him. I had a very bad landslide of grief and fear. what I will do? who am I? Now they are all gone and I am in this house, and there is nothing I can do about this but survive, heal, and thrive again. It was very abrupt from my perspective, and mean. He didn't take one picture of the kids with him. It is still so new. He asked me why I couldn't be happy for him like we were for each kid as they grew up and went on with their life. He keeps emailing me to say how happy he is. He was surprised that I was not happy with his news of leaving.

[SunSeeker]

61. Wow, he is so self-centered he won't even acknowledge how badly he hurt you.

He fucking took the best years of your life, then leaves you and wants you to be happy for him? Why, so he doesn't feel guilty about what he did to you? Fuck that.

[bedazzled]

63. He doesn't have the best years!

She can go on and make them herself! Starting now!

He can regret his stupidity at his leisure

[babydollhead]

67. thank you

it made my heart sink to think he could actually have taken the best years of my life. maybe this next chapter will be something that I throw my whole self into like I did with raising my family. I have the time and the space for joy

[bedazzled]

68. please don't let him continue to hurt you

know that you have accomplished a great deal in caring for others. now is the time to care for yourself. i hope you will learn to enjoy the freedom to make choices that are best for YOU for a change

[babydollhead]

69. thank you kind friend

[janterry]

62. selfish jerk

I'm so sorry. I can't believe he doesn't 'get it.' And if he really doesn't....geez. Selfish jerk.

[Rorey]

66. He sounds like he's messed up in the head

Almost three years ago I found out my husband of almost 20 years was having an affair with someone he knew in high school. Our marriage hadn't been good for awhile, but I was still pretty much blind-sided.

I suggested marriage counseling, and we tried it, but he clearly wanted the best of both worlds so within six months of finding out about the affair, I filed for divorce. Four months later it was a done deal.

I'm not going to lie. It was rough for awhile. Now, a little over two years since the divorce was final, I have found that I'm happier than I ever thought I could be. I finally have peace in my life.

A few things that really helped me get through things were journaling, talking to a trusted person a LOT, and watching a gazillion videos that seemed to be tailor made for my situation.

I typed many long journal entries in the beginning. It helped a lot to sort out my thoughts in that way. Once in awhile now I have a day where I don't quite have my head on straight, and I find myself ruminating about things, so I do a little journaling and watch some videos.

One advantage that I had was that my kids were MY kids. Not his. My sons had treated him like he was their dad, and we had four grandchildren at the time. Now not one of my kids or grandkids will have anything to do with him. He never had kids of his own, so he really screwed himself out of family.

It's going to be more complicated for you because you did have children together. I just want to encourage you to try your hardest to not say derogatory things about him to your kids. Even though they're mad at him, they're all going through a lot of mixed up emotions.

I love that you said the words "survive, heal, and thrive". Those are exactly the right goals.

Oh, and the fact that he keeps contacting you and trying to get your approval for his effed up decision indicates that he's carrying a ton of guilt. Let him carry that load. Don't help him. Honestly, if you can have as little contact with him as possible, it'll be the best thing. It's tough. I broke my own no-contact rule many times before I finally got to an emotional place where I was able to stick to it.

You're going to survive, and you will thrive. I know it.

[babydollhead]

70. your words are wise

thank you for taking the time to write this for me to think about.

[tclambert]

44. Bill caught Melinda using an Apple computer.

It's the only explanation that makes sense.

[NH Ethylene]

47. When our last child was nearly ready to leave for college,

My husband and I went on a trip together. I really wasn't sure what our relationship would be now that all the kids were grown. Everything had been all about the kids for our entire marriage. I wondered if he and I still had anything in common. What would we even talk about alone on a trip together?

It turned out that we had a lot to talk about. We rediscovered each other and have been happy in the 15 years since. We consider ourselves very lucky to be growing old together.

I think it goes the other way for a lot of couples.

[SunSeeker]

59. Congratulations! I'm glad you were able to reconnect.

The kids leaving for college is a tricky time in a marriage. The Gates' youngest child is 18.

[TomSlick]

48. After 27 years, "growing together" is not the goal.

Supporting each other ought to be enough.

[SunSeeker]

60. What does "growing" even mean in this context?

I mean, what is this "growing" he needed to do, at 65, that couldn't happen if he stayed with Melinda? It was a very weird tweet for a 65 year old to write.

[JohnnyRingo]

51. Bill and Melinda have been in a race to give their money away.

Bill said that he'll leave a couple million for the kids, but they shouldn't need more to make it on their own. Now we'll see if Melinda still wants to give her half away.

[LudwigPastorius]

53. Bill supposedly pledged to give away a large percentage of his wealth before he died.

I bet this wasn't the way he was planning on doing it.

[orleans]

54. when i heard this on the radio earlier i thought:

whatever...it must suck to be so fucking rich.

so, it's true what they say? that money can't buy happiness?

yeah... whatever.....

[fierywoman]

55. Which of them will get that ginormous house?

[Devil Child]

64. I'm wondering who will get the 240k acres of prime farmland

Or various other treasures that Gates has gobbled up during his time.

[betsuni]

65. I just heard that their youngest child is eighteen, so maybe waiting for the nest to be empty.

Which reminds me of an old joke about a couple in their nineties getting divorced. The judge asks them why they waited so long. The answer: We've hated each other for sixty years but we had to wait to divorce until the kids died.