Melinda French Gates reveals encounter with 'evil' Jeffrey Epstein that left her with nightmares

Melinda French Gates has opened up about how encountering Jeffrey Epstein affected her.

Melinda spoke about meeting Epstein, saying that it had a profound impact on her, and describing him as 'evil'.

Financier and convicted pedophile Epstein became associated with many powerful and influential people, and many victims have spoken up about the horrifying abuse they suffered, including on the private island Little Saint James.

Several influential names have featured in files from Epstein's estate which have been made public, though simply being named in the files is not in itself an indication of any wrongdoing.

Now, French Gates has revealed to The Guardian the impression that she got of Epstein.

Convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (Kypros/Getty Images)

"Any woman who has ever been around somebody who is evil or had an experience and then if you're around somebody else who is evil. Just no, no," she said.

French Gates went on to make her thoughts on Epstein crystal clear, saying: "Well, I had not been silent. I had been asked before what I thought of Epstein, and I had spoken my truth about what I had experienced."

She added: "He was an abhorrent human being, a horrid man, and so in these situations – this is a hard topic for me, you need to know that – my heart goes out to the young girls."

French Gates went on to say: "I just spoke the truth, which is they deserve some peace, and they deserve some justice."

The Guardian reported that she also communicated her feelings about Epstein with a question of her own.

She said: "Have you ever in your life been around somebody that you just know is evil?

"There you go. You just have your answer. We need to listen to our feelings about people."

Melinda French Gates opened up about her impression of Jeffrey Epstein (Ali Gradischer/USSF/Getty Images)

French Gates was married to Microsoft founder Bill Gates for 27 years, and separated in 2021.

Speaking to NPR's Wild Card host Rachel Martin, she opened about how she gets through difficult times.

"Hope. Always hope," she replied. "When I'm really in despair, it's probably one of the best times to go out and see community work, either in the United States or another country."

She added: "When you see people helping one another, and you see people saying, 'You know what, I can make sure this kid gets on this path', or, 'I'm going to tutor that kid', or 'I'm going to show up and serve on a food line on a cold day', right?

"It just reminds you that, our humanity– there's so much hope in the world. There's so much goodness."