Billionaire Bill Gates: Divorcing his wife is the biggest regretful mistake

In an interview with the Times of London published over the weekend, Mr. Gates, 69, spoke about his 2021 divorce from his wife of 27 years.

He revealed that one of his biggest goals in life is to have a 45-year marriage like his parents.

He has spoken candidly about his decision to divorce Melinda French, calling it "the mistake I regret the most".

"I used to encourage Melinda to be more calm than my mother, but we were both very ambitious. I spent more time with the children than my father did, but the ratio was still 10/1, with Melinda taking on the majority of the child-related tasks. We had a great time," he shared.

Ms. French and Mr. Gates married in 1994 in Hawaii. They co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, a nonprofit focused on eradicating poverty and fighting disease globally. However, after their split, Ms. French, 60, resigned from the foundation in May 2024.

Asked if the divorce was the only failure in his life, Mr. Gates replied: "You could consider that at the top of the list. There were other things, but nothing as important."

"The divorce was a miserable time for Melinda and me for at least two years," he added, sharing that he was "happier" in the nearly four years since the split, but still considered it "the mistake I regret the most."

Despite their divorce, the couple has remained in touch, having three children together: Rory, 25, Phoebe, 22, Jennifer, 28, and two granddaughters, Leila and Mia, who are Jennifer’s children. Both Gates and his ex-wife are currently dating other people.

Last year, Melinda also shared about her divorce that, although difficult and painful, separating from her husband brought her "wonderful" new opportunities.

She revealed that they began living separately during the Covid-19 pandemic, taking turns staying in the house with the children. "It gave us the privacy to work out what needed to be done without anyone noticing. I was living separately before I made the final decision to divorce. I was lucky that I had the space to do that," she said.