Melinda French Gates opened up about what her ex-husband and Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates’ affair helped teach her about what she wants in a marriage, and it starts with trust.
“I learned to have a trusted relationship, which is what I wanted in marriage,” French Gates explained during a Monday night appearance on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” At the time, the late night host asked her what lessons she learned from her former relationship with the billionaire businessman.
“Both partners have to be honest with one another, and if you can’t, you can’t have intimacy and you can’t have trust,” French Gates continued. “And so in the end, I had to go.”
French Gates and Gates were married for 27 years, from 1994 to 2021. In 2021, Microsoft launched an investigation into a relationship with an employee at the company in 2000. The probe was inconclusive, but Gates ultimately stepped down from his position from the Microsoft board.
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” Bridgitt Arnold, a spokeswoman for Gates, previously told The New York Times. “Gates’s decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter.”
In June 2025, during an interview with the The New York Times, Gates took responsibility for how he damaged the marriage, saying his divorce was a “mistake I most regret.”
Together they welcomed three children: Phoebe Adele Gates, Rory John Gates and Jennifer Gates. Since their divorce, French Gates has gone on to continue her philanthropic efforts, including committing $1 billion toward the betterment of women and girls.
“This is a hole that has existed for a long time. And by putting my resources there, and my voice … I think I can shine a light,” French Gates told NPR in October 2024 of her mission to fight systemic issues that impact women and girls.
But in the meantime, she also hasn’t given up on love. French Gates said she’s been testing the waters in the dating pool.
“I am,” French Gates, who just released her book “The Next Day: Transitions, Change and Moving Forward,” told Colbert. “It’s been pretty great. It’s been pretty great.”
