Featured Image Credit: Alamy
Topics: Jeffrey Epstein, Bill Gates
Poppy Bilderbeck
Philanthropist Melinda French Gates has spoken out about how much she 'regret[s]' meeting convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, a former friend of her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.
Similarly to her ex-husband, who in an interview reflected on his dinners with Epstein as 'a mistake', Melinda told CBS Mornings she regretted meeting with the 'evil and abhorrent' man.
Melinda even suggested that her former husband's relationship with the paedophile was part of the reason that the pair divorced.
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In the first interview she has done since her divorce, which was announced in May 2021, Melinda noted the 'nightmares' she had after meeting Epstein, who took his own life while awaiting sex trafficking charges in August 2019, The Telegraph reports.
She said: 'I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door.
'He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards.'
Despite awaiting sex trafficking charges, Epstein had already previously served 13 months in custody after he pleaded guilty and was convicted for soliciting a prostitute and procuring a girl who was under the age of 18 for prostitution in 2018.
Police first started their investigation into the banker in 2005. On July 6, 2019, Epstein was arrested once more after he was accused of sex trafficking minors, including Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
Giuffre has recently been embroiled in a lawsuit with Prince Andrew, after she accused the royal of having sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was only 17 years old.
Giuffre was trafficked to meet with the Duke of York by Epstein and his partner at the time, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was found guilty of five counts, including sex trafficking of minors, and conspiracy to entice a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts. Prince Andrew denied the claims, and the pair have since reached a settlement.
Melinda reflected: 'My heart breaks for these young women because that's how I felt. And here I'm an older woman. Oh my God, I feel terrible for those young women. It’s awful.'
Gates' friendship with Epstein reportedly began after he had been convicted of the initial sex crimes.
'I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made it very clear how I felt about him,' Melinda said.
When questioned over whether Gates did anything to ease her worries about Epstein, Melinda responded: 'Any of the questions remaining about what Bill's relationship there was – those are for Bill to answer. But I made it very clear how I felt about him.'
Last year, when asked about his relationship with the convicted sex offender, Gates called the pair's meetings 'a mistake,' saying that he 'regret[ted]' them. He also alleged that he 'cut them off'.
If you have been affected by any of the issues in this article and wish to speak to someone in confidence, contact The Survivor’s Trust for free on 08088 010 818, or through their website thesurvivorstrust.org