Melinda Gates Says Her Ex-Husband and Others "Need to Answer" for the Epstein Files

In late January 2026, due to the Epstein Files Transparency Act, millions of never-before-seen items from the Epstein files were released by the Department of Justice. Along with those files came emails detailing the alleged involvement of high-profile individuals with Jeffrey Epstein, including Bill Gates, whose name was in numerous correspondence.

Now, his ex-wife, Melinda Gates, has shared a response to Bill's name popping up in the files. Bill has admitted to having multiple business dinners with Epstein under the alleged promise of being given access to potential contacts who could donate billions of dollars to one of Bill's global health causes. There are documents and emails with Bill's name on them, and Melinda has shared her thoughts on her ex's involvement with the convicted sex offender financier.

Melinda appeared on an episode of NPR's Wild Card podcast. During her interview, she discussed her ex-husband's alleged involvement with Epstein during a time when Epstein was purported to have trafficked children and held parties with powerful individuals on his private island. She noted that Bill and other people mentioned in the Epstein files have a lot to answer for.

"Whatever questions remain there of what, I can't even begin to know all of it, those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband," Melinda said. "They need to answer to those things, not me."

She also said, "For me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up, right? Because it brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage."

Bill and Melinda divorced in 2021. Per The New York Times, there were rumors that Bill had an affair with an employee before Melinda filed for divorce. According to Business Insider, Melinda noted in the filing that her marriage to Bill was "irretrievably broken."

Some of the emails from the Epstein files that are available now on the DOJ website include mentions of Bill having meetings with Epstein and even alleged plans for Epstein to arrange sexual encounters for Bill outside of his marriage. However, there is no proof outside of the files that show these claims are true.

NPR reported that a rep for Bill told the outlet, "The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame." In one of the released files, there is an email to Epstein confirming a December 2010 dinner with Bill.

Another email has apparent notes about a 2014 meeting between Epstein and Bill. However, a 2013 email written by Epstein also serves as a resignation from his role in the Gates Foundation.

"I have been caught up in a severe marital dispute between Melinda and Bill," Epstein wrote. "I have the greatest respect for my friend of seven years, and wish them both well."

It's unclear if Epstein sent the email or if it was a draft that he never shared. He added at the end of the email, "From helping Bill to get drugs, in order to deal with consequences of sex with Russian girls, to facilitating his illicit trysts, with married women, to being asked to provide Adderall [for] bridge [tournaments]. I feel I owe it to my friends and [future] colleagues to admit a moral failure, to ask forgiveness, and to move on with my life."