Updated February 3, 2026 at 1:23 PM EST
Melinda French Gates on Tuesday said that her ex-husband, Bill Gates, needs to answer for the behavior alleged in the latest trove of private communications released in connection with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
"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," French Gates said in an interview on NPR's Wild Card podcast.
"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," she said. "They need to answer to those things, not me."
Bill Gates is one of many influential people mentioned by name in the 3 million newly released pages of Epstein's personal communications.
A spokesperson for Bill Gates has told NPR, "These claims are absolutely absurd and completely false. 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 emails, Epstein wrote that Bill Gates had come to him to facilitate trysts with married women and to get medication to treat an STI from "sex with Russian girls."
Epstein also claimed that Bill Gates wanted to try to give that STI medication to Melinda French Gates in secret.
"To add insult to the injury you then implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis," outlined one angry email from Epstein.
The files released by the Justice Department highlighted the extent of Epstein's personal connections with powerful people.
In the interview with NPR, which will be released in full on Thursday, French Gates said that the latest flood of documents filled her with "unbelievable sadness" and reminded her of the struggles she faced in her marriage.
"I'm able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did that happen to those girls?" she said.
"At least for me, I've been able to move on in life, and I hope there's some justice for those now-women."
(Can't see the clip above? Watch it on YouTube)
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