‘Away from all the muck’: Melinda French Gates says ex-husband must answer for Epstein file allegations

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’ ex-wife Melinda French Gates distanced herself from him during a Tuesday appearance on NPR's "Wild Card" podcast, saying that society is in for a "reckoning."

The Department of Justice (DOJ) released more than 3 million Jeffrey Epstein investigative records, including Epstein's personal emails, on Friday. Some of the emails allege that Bill Gates had additional affairs and tried to get medication to treat a sexually transmitted infection. He also allegedly wanted to give the medication to his wife at the time without her knowing.

A spokesperson for Bill Gates denied the claims, telling Fox News Digital, "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."

NPR "Wild Card" podcast host Rachel Martin asked Melinda Gates about the claims. 

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Melinda Gates told NPR how she distanced herself from her ex-husband Bill Gates as his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein was revealed.  (Taylor Hill/Getty Images)

"Well, let me say this. I think we're having a reckoning as a society, right? No girl, 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. No girl, I mean, it's just it's beyond heartbreaking, right?" French Gates said. "I remember being those ages those girls were. I remember my daughters being those ages, right? So, um for me, it's personally hard whenever those details come up, right? Because, um, brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage."

While saddened, she emphasized that these allegations are for people like her husband to deal with. 

"But I have moved on from that. I purposely pushed it away and I moved on. I'm in a really unexpected, beautiful place in my life. So whatever questions remain there of what I don't — can't even begin to know all of it. Those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need the answer to those things, not me! Well, and I am so happy to be away from all the muck."

Martin later asked French Gates what her dominant emotion is when she reads news coverage about the crimes and scandals surrounding Epstein. 

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Melinda Gates said she had to get away from her marriage to Bill Gates and move on.  (Lou Rocco/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images)

"Sad. Just unbelievable sadness. Unbelievable sadness. Right?" she said. "Again, I'm able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, ‘My God, how did they — how did that happen to those girls?"

"And so for me, it's just sadness," she continued. "I left my marriage. I had to leave my marriage. I wanted to leave my marriage. I had to leave the — I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation. So, it's just sad. That's the truth, right? And it's kind of like, at least for me, I've been able to move on in life. And I hope there's some justice for those now-women, right? We see them standing up in front of microphones in D.C. Um, what they went through is just unimaginable."

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The Department of Justice released a trove of Epstein documents this past week, leading to scandalous allegations about numerous powerful figures. (Joe Schildhorn/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)

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