Bill Gates had reportedly spoken about his marriage and relationship problems with his close friends on the golf course.
He had told them that his marriage with Melinda Gates was a 'loveless one.' This was before the ex-couple broke the news about their divorce. "Bill did talk to his close friends on the golf course," said a source. "He told them a while back that the marriage was loveless, that it had been over for some time and they were living separate lives."
However, a source told Fox Business that describing the marriage as "loveless" is "completely inaccurate from the perspective of Gates."
Meanwhile, the first hearing of Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce will commence on May 14.
On May 3, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates released a joint statement, saying that they had decided to end their 27-year-long marriage. “We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple," said the statement.
According to sources, Bill Gates, an avid golfer, was at his $12.5 million mansion at The Vintage Club, when the news about his divorce was made public. It is said that he has been staying there for three months now.
Many third-party names have been doing the rounds ever since Bill and Melinda Gates' divorce announcement was made. Two women Ann Winblad and Zhe Wang have been rumoured to have catalysed their breakup. A man's name has also come out into the open, amidst the divorce.
Bill Gates denied having business ties with Jeffrey Epstein
Jeffrey Epstein, top-brass American financier and a convicted sex offender is said to have had some connection with Bill Gates. He reportedly died by suicide in prison, in 2019. It is said that he might have sounded the death knell for their marriage.
According to a 2019 report by the New York Times, Bill Gates and Epstein first met in 2011 and met often. It is said that there was a talk about Epstein's interest in the Gates' philanthropy. However, Bill Gates had said that he didn't have any business ties with him in 2019. That was the year when Melinda Gates had meetings with divorce lawyers.