Melinda Gates Slams Bill and Says He Must Answer for His Epstein Ties

Melinda French Gates is calling on her ex-husband, billionaire tech titan Bill Gates, to finally explain his long-scrutinized relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. And she isn’t mincing her words.

Speaking in a promo for NPR’s Wild Card podcast, Melinda said the latest release of Epstein Files by the Department of Justice left her “deeply saddened” for the alleged victims and brought back what she described as “some very painful moments” from her own marriage.

“No young woman should ever be put through what these victims were put through,” she said. “And if powerful people spent time with Jeffrey Epstein, including my ex-husband, then they should answer those questions. Not me.”

She added: “Whatever questions remain, and there are many, those are for Bill and anyone else who had dealings with Epstein. I’ve moved on from that part of my life.”

Melinda insisted she is now in what she called “a beautiful place,” emotionally and personally. But she made clear she has no intention of shielding Bill Gates from public scrutiny. Her message was unmistakable: talk to Bill, not me.

The Gates divorce was finalized in 2021. But people close to the couple have long said the unraveling began much earlier.

In 2019, Bill’s association with Epstein reportedly triggered what one family friend referred to as “a serious marital rupture.” Melinda was said to be uncomfortable with Bill’s meetings inside Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse and told him directly, “I don’t trust this relationship. I don’t like any of this.”

She later admitted she contacted divorce attorneys years before filing, after reports linking Bill and Epstein first surfaced.

The newly released DOJ documents include a draft email written by Epstein himself. In the message, Epstein claimed Gates contracted an STD from a young Russian woman and intended to give Melinda antibiotics so she wouldn’t discover it.

The DOJ has not confirmed the accuracy of the draft. But the claim immediately ricocheted across Washington and Big Tech circles. The release is part of a broader transparency effort championed by President Donald Trump, whose administration ordered the unsealing of millions of pages of Epstein-related records.

A spokesperson for Bill Gates dismissed the claims outright.

“These allegations are completely false and absurd,” the spokesperson told TMZ. “The documents only show Epstein’s desperation to maintain a relationship with Gates, and the lengths he would go to smear him when that failed.”

With the Trump White House pushing aggressively for full Epstein disclosure, Gates now finds himself under renewed scrutiny. Several congressional Republicans have already suggested Gates should testify under oath about his interactions with Epstein from 2011 to 2014.

A senior GOP aide said Wednesday, “If Melinda Gates is publicly washing her hands of this, that tells you everything. The American people deserve answers.”

Melinda agrees on that point, even if for very different reasons.

“I’ve closed that chapter,” she said. “But others still have to reckon with it.”