Bill and Melinda Gates met with Jeffrey Epstein in 2013, which infuriated Melinda and caused major issues in the couple’s relationship, according to a report from The Daily Beast.
The meeting occurred in September of 2013 at Epstein’s Upper East Side Mansion in New York City. It was a turning point for Epstein and Gate’s relationship, after which Melinda told friends that she was uncomfortable meeting with the sex offender and had not wanted to be there, according to The Daily Beast.
Gates and Epstein had met several times beginning in 2011, three years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a young girl, The New York Times.
Gates claims that he never had a business relationship with Epstein and none of their meetings were private. (RELATED: HART: Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation Crumbles)
After Epstein was arrested in 2019, Gates was scrutinized for his relationship with the sex offender, according to The Daily Beast.
A technology associate who attended some of the same events as Epstein commented on Gates’ ties with him.
“If you ask Bill Gates, he’ll say, ‘Oh I had absolutely no idea he wasn’t up to anything of the highest moral character.’ But I seriously doubted Epstein’s moral character,” the person, who asked to remain anonymous, said, according to The Daily Beast.
Bill and Melinda announced Monday on Twitter that they are getting divorced.
— Melinda French Gates (@melindagates) May 3, 2021
Bill and Melinda Gates married in 1994 and have three children together, according Business Insider.