Melinda Gates Says Splitting From Bill Gates Was the ‘Lowest Moment’ of Her Life

usmagazine.com:

Healing after heartbreak. Nearly one year after Melinda Gates and ex-husband Bill Gates announced their split, the philanthropist opened up about the difficult decision.“We all have low moments,” Melinda, 57, told USA Today after she was named a Woman of the Year earlier this month. “I’m not happy every day.

You turn on the news and you think, ‘Oh my, gosh, what’s going to happen next?’ I would say probably, though, for sure, my lowest moment in life was when I finally reached the decision that I knew I needed to leave my marriage.”The Moment of Lift author exchanged vows with the Microsoft founder, 66, in Lanai, Hawaii, in January 1994, and they share three children: Jennifer, Rory and Phoebe.

After 27 years of marriage, Melinda was shocked when she realized she was no longer happy.“That wasn’t something I ever thought would happen to me,” she explained. “It certainly wasn’t what I thought on the day I got married, but I realized for myself, I needed to make a healthier choice, and that was just a very, very sad day.”The cofounders of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced their split in May 2021. “After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” they shared in a statement at the time. “Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives.”The joint message continued: “We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives.”The same month that the former couple’s split made headlines, a Wall