Bill Gates has been accused of having affairs and recently admitted to it after his name was mentioned in the Epstein Files.
The United States Justice Department released a batch of files connected to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, whom Gates was previously connected to, in February 2026. (Epstein died by suicide at age 66 in August 2019.)
An email from the files alleged that Bill had sexual relations with two “Russian girls” and got a sexually transmitted infection. At the time the email was written, Bill was married to Melinda Gates. The pair split in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage.
After the email was released to the public in February 2026, Bill apologized for his connection to Epstein.
“It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” he said in a Gates Foundation company town hall, per a recording obtained by The Wall Street Journal at the time. “I apologize to other people who are drawn into this because of the mistake that I made.”
Bill also claimed that he never did or saw anything “illicit” while spending time with the late billionaire, but he was guilty of having affairs.
“I did have affairs,” he said in the town hall. “One with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities.”
Keep scrolling for everything to know about the Microsoft founder’s affairs:
Who Did Bill Gates Admit to Having an Affair With?
Bill Gates confirmed in February 2026 that he had affairs with a “Russian bridge player” and a “Russian nuclear physicist.” While Bill did not reveal the identities of his romantic partner, the Wall Street Journal reported that he knew bridge player Mila Antonova. Bill and Antonova reportedly met in 2010. Antonova has not addressed the claims of her connection to Bill.
Did Bill Gates Have an Affair With Someone at Microsoft?
Bill Gates, who cofounded Microsoft in 1975 with Paul Allen, was investigated in 2019 by the company for seeking a relationship with a staff member. One year after the investigation took place, Bill stepped down from the board. News of the investigation broke one year after parting ways with the tech company.
“Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000,” a Microsoft spokesperson told NBC News in 2021. “A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm, to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern.”
Bill later addressed the speculation he left the company due to the investigation via his spokesperson.
“There was an affair almost 20 years ago which ended amicably,” the rep told NBC News in 2021. “Bill’s decision to transition off the board was in no way related to this matter. In fact, he had expressed an interest in spending more time on his philanthropy starting several years earlier.”
What Has Melinda Gates Said About Bill Gates’ Affairs?
While Melinda Gates did not address the affairs directly, she has reacted to her ex-husband being mentioned in the Epstein Files.
“I think we’re having a reckoning as a society. No girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him,” Melinda said in a February 2026 episode of NPR’s “Wild Card with Rachel Martin” podcast. “It’s beyond heartbreaking.”
The philanthropist added it was “personally hard” to relive some of those memories from her marriage to Bill.
“[It] brings back memories of some very very painful times in my marriage. But I have moved on from that,” she continued. “I purposely pushed it away and I moved on. I’m in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life.”
