Bill gates says he would choose to marry ex-wife Melinda "all over again"

Bill Gates has said that his marriage to ex-wife Melinda French Gates was "great" and he would choose to marry her "all over again". 

The couple had announced their divorce back in May 2021 after nearly 30 years of marriage.

It was finalised in August 2021 but the couple had announced that they would continue to run their foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, together. They have three children together - Jenner, Rory and Phoebe.

Speaking to Sunday Times on 1 May, Bill Gates described the last two years as "pretty dramatic" but he also added that even with the COVID-19 pandemic and his divorce, the "weirdest part" for him has been his children leaving, reports NDTV.

Gates also opened up about his current working relationship with his ex-wife and expressed how he feels about the end of their marriage. 

He stated that every marriage "goes through a transition" after children grow up and leave the family home. For him, the transition was "called divorce," he said. 

However, the business magnet added that in spite of its ending, from his point of view he had a "great marriage". 

"I wouldn't have changed it. You know, I wouldn't choose to marry someone else," the Microsoft founder told Sunday Times. 

When asked if he would marry Melinda French Gates again, the philanthropist answered: "Yes. I'm talking about would I marry Melinda all over again. In terms of my future, I don't have any plans, but I highly recommend marriage."

Further, Gates admitted that he didn't know whether he was slowly coming to terms with his divorce. However, he went on to add that he feels "lucky" that he still gets to work with his ex-wife. He explained, "We have the annual employee meeting at the Foundation and the Giving Pledge and the annual meeting in June that she and I host together."

Speaking to the media outlet, Bill Gates said that he believes that he is still friends with his ex-wife. He stated that he has a "super-important, complex, close relationship" with Melinda in which they have chosen to work together. 

"And I'm very happy that we get to work together. You know, we built the Foundation together," Gates said. 

As for why their marriage came to an end in the first place, Gates simply stated that marriages "are so complex that to delve into that isn't worthwhile". Speaking about the impact of divorce, he maintained that they both are healing from it.