In a preview of an upcoming episode of NPR's "Wild Card" podcast, Melinda French Gates recognized what she called the "elephant in the room."
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates readdressed his ties to Jeffrey Epstein after the Justice Department released three million more documents from the case, saying he was "foolish" to spend time with the late financier and convicted sex offender.
In an interview with "Nine News Australia," Gates added that he "regrets every minute" he spent with the disgraced wealth manager. He denied allegations that were mentioned in draft emails from Epstein's account, including that he used Epstein to facilitate trysts with women and that he hid a sexually transmitted disease from his then-wife, Melinda French Gates.
"Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent," Gates told the news outlet. "The email is false. So I don't know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way? It just reminds me, every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that."
Gates said he met Epstein in 2011 and had a "number of dinners with him." The focus of the relationship, according to Gates, was to discuss business opportunities.
"The focus was always, he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health," Gates added. "In retrospect, that was a dead end. I was foolish to spend time with him. I was one of many people who regret ever knowing him."
Gates also denied visiting Epstein's island, where Epstein was accused of trafficking and assaulting women, and having relations with other women.
"The more that comes out, the more clear it will be that, although the time was a mistake, it had nothing to do with that kind of behavior," Gates said.
The interview comes after internal documents related to Epstein revealed his connections to many prominent people in politics, finance, academia, and business. Gates, along with President Donald Trump and former President Bill Clinton, were named in the millions of files the Justice Department collected. All three have denied any wrongdoing.
Epstein died in a Manhattan jail in 2019 while awaiting a federal sex-trafficking trial. His death was ruled a suicide.
Conspiracy theories have swirled for years about whether other rich and powerful people may have participated with Epstein in sex crimes. Many alleged victims say more people should be held accountable.
Bill Gates named in Epstein files
Documents released from the Epstein files indicate that Gates and Epstein met repeatedly after Epstein's prison term to discuss expanding the Microsoft founder's philanthropic efforts. They also include pictures of Gates posing with women whose faces are redacted.
A photo released in December 2025 showed Gates alongside Epstein wearing suits, but the context of the image remains unclear. On Jan. 30, the Justice Department released three million more pages of documents from the Epstein files, which mentioned Gates, billionaire tech executive Elon Musk, and Trump.
On July 18, 2013, Epstein sent two emails to himself, including one containing unverified allegations that the former Microsoft CEO contracted a sexually transmitted infection from having extramarital "sex with Russian girls" requiring antibiotics, according to a file shared by the Justice Department.
The other email was a resignation letter, which appeared to be written from the perspective of someone named "Boris," condemning Gates for choosing to "disregard our friendship developed of over the last 6 years."
"In my role as his right hand I had been asked on mulitple occassion and in hindsight , wrongly acquiesced into participating in things that have ranged from the morally inappropriate, to the ethically unsound and had been repeatedly asked to do other things that get near and potentially over the line into the illegal," the email reads.
Gates has said the relationship was confined to philanthropy-related discussions and has said it was a mistake to meet with him.
Melinda French Gates says Bill Gates must 'answer to' allegations
Following the latest batch of documents released from the Epstein files, French Gates said it is not her responsibility to answer questions about her ex-husband's ties to Epstein.
"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 to answer to those things, not me," she said in the upcoming Thursday, Feb. 5, episode of NPR's "Wild Card" podcast.
In 2021, French Gates and Gates announced their divorce after 27 years of marriage. French Gates later left the Gates Foundation in 2024, a decision she said she felt she had to make.
"Unbelievable sadness," she told Rachel Martin, host of NPR's "Wild Card" podcast. "I had to leave my marriage. I wanted to leave my marriage."