Last year, This was announced by Melinda French Gates and Bill Gates their separation. They were married for almost three decades and their divorce was finalized in August 2021.

Though they both continue to run their philanthropic foundation together, Melinda’s “incredibly painful” divorce hasn’t been easy for her. However, in a recent interviewshe opened up about the experience.

“I had a few reasons; I just couldn’t stay in this marriage anymore,” she said in an interview. “But the weird thing about COVID is that it gave me the privacy to do what I needed to. It’s incredibly painful in countless ways, but I’ve had the privacy to get through it.”

Melinda and Bill Gates has three children together — Jennifer, 25. Rory, 23, and Phoebe, 19. She mentioned that her main concern during the difficult time was protecting her children.

“My main concern was of course trying to protect my children through this. And we got to the other side,” she said.

At the time of the divorce, Melinda wrote on her Instagram, “After much thought and work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage. Over the past 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation dedicated to helping all people lead healthy, productive lives around the world.”

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Talking about the difficulties she faced at work with her ex-husband, Melinda added“I kept working with the person I moved away from and I had to show up every day and be my best self. So even though I may have to cry at 9am and then videoconference at 10am AM with the person I’m leaving, I have to show up and do my best.”

“I learned as a leader that I can do it. It reminded me that the Foundation is calling me to do my best,” she said.

She first spoke about her marriage and divorce in an interview with in March Gayle Knight on the “CBS This…