Last week, Melinda and Bill Gates shocked the nation by announcing the end of their 27-year marriage. Melinda Gates started talking to divorce attorneys in 2019, the same year that the New York Times revealed her husband and Jeffrey Epstein had met several times. The following is how the convicted sex abuser and the Microsoft cofounder were connected.

The link between Bill Gates and Jeffrey Epstein?

Epstein first met with the group three years after pleading guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage teen, becoming a licensed sex offender, and serving 13 months in prison. The pair met in 2011 at Epstein's Manhattan home to propose philanthropic ideas after Epstein tried hard to reach the Microsoft co-founder, according to the New York Times, which cited records and interviews with more than a dozen people acquainted with the two men's relationship.

According to a Gates spokeswoman, the email was about Epstein's "unique decor" and spontaneous way of welcoming friends to visit his guests. According to recent reports in The Daily Beast, Melinda Gates is still haunted by the meeting.

Per Business Insider, Bill Gates and Epstein met again in 2011 and were pictured with a senior JP Morgan executive and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's science adviser. The three got together at Epstein's mansion in New York City. According to the Journal, Melinda Gates told her husband shortly after that she was unhappy with Epstein and was furious about Bill Gates' involvement with him.

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Bill Gates urged to give evidence to Ghislaine Maxwell's case

Bill Gates has been encouraged to testify over his links to Jeffrey Epstein after it was disclosed that he purchased a home near the disgraced financier and one of his billionaire associates. According to The Sun, attorney Spencer Kuvin, who represents nine Epstein victims, Gates should volunteer some details about the suspect or his associates that might help the Ghislaine Maxwell investigation.

During all of Gates' encounters with Epstein, he has always denied witnessing any misconduct. Prince Andrew has already stated that he is innocent of any wrongdoing. Although documents indicate that Gates flew on Epstein's infamous Lolita Express in 2013, he says he had no idea who owned the jet.

Melinda Gates was allegedly upset by her husband's then-friendship with the wealthy Epstein in 2013, telling friends that she felt uncomfortable in his company and had "nothing to do with him," as per Daily Beast. The timing of the split, which is thought to have begun in 2019 by Melinda at the time of Epstein's conviction on human trafficking charges, "does seem suspicious," said Kuvin.

He urges Gates to come forward to authorities and hand over whatever evidence he has about Epstein and his partners to the Ghislaine Maxwell prosecutors. "Remember, Ghislaine Maxwell is the subject of an open investigation. So, if Mr. Gates has any details that could help with that investigation, I would advise him to come forward," Kuvin said.

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