Melinda French Gates never trusted Jeffrey Epstein — and according to a bombshell new column, she may have been the only one in Bill Gates’ inner circle who saw the warning signs clearly.
A new piece from bestselling author Michael Wolff claims the disgraced financier had a disturbing front-row seat to the unraveling of Bill and Melinda’s 27-year marriage.
Wolff, writing on his Substack HOWL, described Epstein as someone who allegedly inserted himself into Gates’ personal and professional world at a time when the Microsoft billionaire was trying to expand the Gates Foundation into a global powerhouse.
But behind the polished public image of one of the richest and most famous couples in the world, Wolff claims Epstein saw something far darker.
According to Wolff, Epstein believed Gates was dealing with two major problems around 2014: growing the foundation into something as influential as Microsoft — and escaping what Epstein allegedly viewed as a miserable home life.
“Or, at least, this is how Epstein came to perceive and portray the situation,” Wolff wrote.
Bill and Melinda Gates would not divorce until 2021, two years after Epstein died by suicide in a Manhattan jail while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.
But Wolff claims that years before the split, Epstein had what he called a “detailed picture of the marriage’s hellscape.”
“Melinda Gates’ version of the breakup of her marriage puts considerable blame on Epstein — and her abhorrence of her husband’s new friend,” Wolff wrote.
Epstein’s version, according to Wolff, was very different. He allegedly claimed Gates was the one who needed a trusted friend because he was so unhappy with his wife.
That alleged friendship soon created what Wolff described as the “Melinda problem.”
French Gates reportedly objected to Epstein’s growing influence around her husband and the foundation. Epstein, of course, was not just any wealthy acquaintance. He was already a convicted sex offender, having served time after soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Wolff claims French Gates was especially alarmed by what came up when she searched Epstein’s name online.
In Wolff’s telling, Epstein and Gates allegedly discussed how to improve Epstein’s public image so French Gates would be more willing to accept him in their orbit.
But French Gates has made it painfully clear that she never accepted him.
She has said she met Epstein only once — and was immediately shaken by him.
“Have you ever in your life been around somebody that you just know is evil?” she told The Guardian earlier this month, becoming emotional as she recalled the encounter.
“Any woman who has ever been around somebody who is evil or had an experience and then if you’re around somebody else who is evil. Just no, no,” she said.
French Gates has also publicly criticized her ex-husband for continuing to associate with Epstein despite her objections.
She has said Gates’ relationship with Epstein was one of the factors that contributed to the end of their marriage.
Gates has since acknowledged that French Gates was skeptical of Epstein. Earlier this year, he reportedly told foundation staff that she was “always kind of skeptical about the Epstein thing.”
The Epstein connection resurfaced again this year after newly released files included an explosive allegation involving Gates and a sexually transmitted infection. According to the documents, Epstein drafted a 2013 email claiming Gates had contracted an infection after “sex with Russian girls” and allegedly discussed giving Melinda antibiotics.
Gates has strongly denied the claim and said there is no truth to it.
For French Gates, however, the renewed attention around Epstein has brought back painful memories.
During an interview with NPR host Rachel Martin on the podcast Wild Card, French Gates said seeing the Epstein coverage made her feel “sad, just unbelievable sadness.”
She said the details were “personally hard” because they brought back “very, very painful times” in her marriage.
“I left my marriage, I had to leave my marriage, I wanted to leave my marriage,” she said.
Bill and Melinda French Gates were once seen as one of the most powerful couples in the world — billionaires, philanthropists and public do-gooders with a global empire of influence.
But years later, Epstein’s name is still tied to one of the most painful chapters of their private life.
And Melinda French Gates has made one thing clear: she knew something was wrong from the start.
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