REUTERS/Kamil Zihnioglu/Pool
- A judge signed off on the divorce between Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates on Monday.
- The former couple announced they were splitting up in May.
- They had been married for 27 years.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have officially divorced after a judge finalized their split on Monday, court records show.
The former couple, who have three adult children together, announced they were divorcing in May after 27 years of marriage, saying they could no longer "grow together." French Gates said in a court filing in May that she would not be changing her name.
The final divorce order filed by the court notes that the two agreed to a "separation contract" which was not filed in the divorce proceedings. The separation contract includes how the two will divide their property, debt, and court fees. Each of the Gates children is 18 years old or older, therefore the courts did not establish a parenting or child support plan.
Melinda French Gates reportedly sought divorce lawyers in 2019 after it emerged that he had ties to now-dead convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to The Wall Street Journal. The couple secretly married on January 1, 1994 in Lanai, Hawaii with party performances from Willie Nelson and Alice Cooper.
In the weeks following the official divorce announcement in May, reports emerged accusing Bill Gates of being an office bully who had pursued sexual affairs. He was later seen at a "billionaire summer camp" in Idaho in early July.
Both Melinda and Bill Gates currently plan to remain co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, a nonprofit that aims to combat poverty, disease, and inequity around the world. If the pair cannot work together, Melinda Gates can step down in two years, according to Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation.