After announcing her divorce from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 2021, Melinda French Gates signaled that his relationship with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein was a central factor in the dissolution of their 27-year marriage.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein,” she said in an interview last year. “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 called Epstein, who died behind bars in 2019, “abhorrent” and “evil personified,” adding: “I had nightmares about it afterward. That’s why my heart breaks for these young women. That’s how I felt, and I am an older woman. He was awful.”
Never forget that Bill Gates was asked in an interview if he thinks his ex-wife Melinda was warning him about Jeffrey Epstein “sexually compromising” him.
His response: “No — I had dinner with him, and that's all.”
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) May 22, 2023
Stories surrounding the divorce also hinted at infidelity on Bill Gates’ part — and reports this week indicate that Epstein threatened to expose one affair between the billionaire and a much younger professional bridge player from Russia.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Mila Antonova was in her 20s when she met Gates in 2010. A few years later, Antonova was introduced to Epstein, who reportedly offered to pay for her education.
Then, in 2017, Epstein allegedly emailed Gates seeking reimbursement for that expense and threatened to expose the affair if Gates attempted to sever ties with him.
In response to the Journal’s bombshell report, a Gates spokesperson issued a statement essentially confirming the account.
“Mr. Gates met with Epstein solely for philanthropic purposes,” the spokesperson said. “Having failed repeatedly to draw Mr. Gates beyond these matters, Epstein tried unsuccessfully to leverage a past relationship to threaten Mr. Gates.”
Although she neither confirmed nor denied a relationship with Gates, Antonova did reference her encounter with Epstein in a statement.
“I had no idea that he was a criminal or had any ulterior motive,” she said. “I just thought he was a successful businessman and wanted to help. I am disgusted with Epstein and what he did.”
Antonova described her intention in meeting with Epstein in 2013 as an attempt to secure funding for her mission to promote bridge. While he did not invest in that venture, she said he volunteered to pay for her education.
“I don’t know why he did that,” she said. “When I asked, he said something like he was wealthy and wanted to help people when he could.”
