Melinda Gates has revealed that her ex-husband Bill Gates’ friendship with notorious child sex trafficker Jeffery Epstein gave her "nightmares" and contributed to the power couple's divorce.
She spoke with CBS Mornings about her disdain for Epstein and its impact on her marriage to Mr Gates. The interview was her first since their divorce last year.
"I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him. I also met Jeffrey Epstein exactly one time. I wanted to see who this man was and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door," she told CBS's Gayle King.
She said that Epstein was "abhorrent, evil personified" and that meeting caused her to have "nightmares”.
"That's why my heart breaks for these young women. That's how I felt, and I am an older woman. He was awful," she said.
Mr Gates’ relationship with Epstein contributed to the erosion of the couple's relationship, though Ms Gates said it was not the only issue.
"It was not one thing, it was many things [that led to the divorce]. Any of the questions remaining about what Bill's relationship with him was... those are for Bill to answer. I made it very clear how I felt about him," she said.
Mr Gates has since said his friendship with Epstein was a “huge mistake” and a “substantial error in judgement”.
She said she and her ex-husband are still “friendly” and they still have business together, but they are not “friends.”
Asked by Ms King about Mr Gates’ fidelity during their relationship, she said those questions would have to be answered by him. Mr Gates has acknowledged one affair during his 27-year-marriage.
“I believe in forgiveness. I thought we had worked through some of that,” she said of the affair. “I gave every single piece of myself to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day I got out of it.”
She said she hopes that one day she and Mr Gates could resume a friendship.
“We are friendly at this point. Friends is a different word for me. That might come over time but for me there is still healing that needs to happen,” she said. “I wish him well. I certainly don’t wish him any harm.”
