Melinda Gates says choosing to divorce Bill was her 'lowest moment'

Melinda Gates has opened up about what led to her divorce. Photo / Getty Images

Melinda Gates says realising it was time to divorce Bill was the "lowest moment" of her life.

She admitted in an interview with USA Today that "everyone has low moments" and she is "not happy every day", Page Six reports.

"It certainly wasn't what I thought on the day I got married," she said. "But I realised for myself, I needed to make a healthier choice, and that was just a very, very sad day."

The pair first announced their split in last May.

"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the former couple said at the time.

"We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives. We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life."

The divorce was finalised by August.

Melinda recently revealed her ex-husband's friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein contributed to her decision to end the relationship.

"I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him," she told Gayle King on CBS Mornings this month.

Melinda Gates has opened up about what led to her divorce. Photo / Getty Images

"He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women."

She went on to clarify that it was not the only reason for their divorce, adding it was "not one thing but many things".

Bill allegedly had an affair with an employee at Microsoft, which the company's board became aware of in 2019.

"I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that," Melinda told King.

"It wasn't one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where I realised it just wasn't healthy, and I couldn't trust what we had."

The former couple share daughters Jennifer, 25, and Phoebe, 19, and son Rory, 22.