She has been married to Bill Gates for 27 years, and they announced their divorce in May 2021. She has written a memoir, “The Next Day”, which she promoted on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in April 2023. Melinda emphasizes the importance of honesty in a relationship, stating that both partners must be truthful with each other.
She credits her years of therapy for helping her cope with the betrayals in her marriage.
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Divorce and relationship dynamics.
The divorce. It’s a messy, complicated, utterly human thing. Two people who once thought they were invincible, who once thought their love would conquer all, suddenly find themselves on opposite sides of a battle-scarred battlefield. And what’s the end result? A pile of paperwork, a permanent fixture on the family calendar, and a lingering sense of what could’ve been. It’s enough to make you wonder: how did we get here? How did two people, who once laughed, loved, and —d together, end up — apart, with only their shared past to hold them together? The thing is, divorce is rarely a straightforward affair.
It’s a messy, emotional, often brutal business. You’re forced to confront the parts of — you’d rather ignore, to face the demons that have been hiding in the shadows. And it’s not just about the other person… although that’s a big part of it. It’s about the crack that spread through the foundation of your relationship, “the tiny fissure that seemed so insignificant at first,” but eventually grew into a chasm that could only be bridged by one thing: the end. But even in the midst of all that chaos… there’s a strange sort of beauty to be found.
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The philanthropist and writer reflected on the end of her 27-year marriage to Bill Gates during an April 14 appearance on ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’
Michael Nied has been a digital news editor with PEOPLE since 2025. He has previously been published by Just Jared, PopCrush, Idolator and The List.