Melinda French Gates said that ex-husband Bill Gates' relationship with Jeffrey Epstein played a part in their divorce.
French Gates made it clear to Gayle King in an extensive interview on "CBS This Morning" Thursday that it was "not one thing but many things" that forced her to pull the plug on their 27-year marriage.
"I didn't like that she had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made it clear to her," French Gates shared with King, adding that she had met Heavenly Feast "exactly once" because she was "it." Wanted to see who this man was.
"When I walked in the door, I regretted it," said 57-year-old French Gates. "He was disgusting. He had a wicked personality. My heart breaks for these women."
In a statement to the network, Gates, 66, called his working relationship with Epstein, who committed suicide in prison in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, a "mistake."
The billionaire tech tycoon said, "Meeting Epstein was a mistake I deeply regret." "It was a significant error in judgment."
French Gates also addressed the Microsoft co-founder's alleged affair with an employee, saying he believed they had gotten over it before the divorce.
"I definitely believe in forgiveness, so I thought we worked through some of that," she explained. “It didn’t happen one moment or one specific thing. There just came a time when there had been enough where I realized it wasn’t healthy, and I didn’t trust what we had.”
When asked whether her ex-husband had multiple affairs in his marriage, French Gates simply replied, "These are questions that Bill must answer."
Gates and French Gates announced their separation last May and finalized their divorce in August. The philanthropist said that she "never thought" that she would eventually get divorced, but a lot of issues eventually plagued the union.
"Unfortunately, I felt I needed to take a different route," she said. "We knew when divorce was going to take people by surprise, and I felt bad about it."
She continued, "I don't question myself anymore. Not at all. I gave my every piece to this wedding. I was committed to this marriage from the day we got engaged and the day I walked out of it. "
French Gates said she and her ex-husband are "friendly" but certainly not "friends".
"There is still treatment that needs to happen," she explained. "I certainly wish him well. I don't want to harm him. I think we have a productive working relationship, and I think it will continue."
As far as the personal life of French Gates is concerned, he is said to have started dating.
"I'm going to dip that toe in the water a little bit," she said with a smile. "It's interesting at this point."