# Bill and Melinda Gates getting a divorce **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 4, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379 "2021-05-04T16:36:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/1 "2021-05-04T16:36:07Z")
When my wife told me this yesterday I was like, “Nah, that’s probably clickbait”. Didn’t take long to confirm it. I have to admit I’m a bit shocked. 27 years is a long time. I don’t know what “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives”. Maybe empty nesters are just bored with eachother. Bill doesn’t strike me as the type to step out on his wife and go after some new young thing, but who knows. Anyway, just a mundane and pointless thing. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/2 "2021-05-04T16:38:41Z")
No, Bill and Melinda; it’s ‘May the Force be with you,’ not ‘divorce’. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/3 "2021-05-04T16:42:36Z")
So she found out Bill really did want to microchip anyone but was foiled by reality? ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/4 "2021-05-04T16:47:32Z")
I think its a shame because I think Melinda did a lot to help Bill grow into a good human being from a self centered ass. But its also reality that with grown kids, there quirks have worn each other down (I couldn’t live with Bill Gates for 27 years - and I suspect anyone that could has their own quirks). They seem to be letting go on good terms and will keep running the foundation together. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/5 "2021-05-04T16:47:43Z")
The New York Times article mentioned that they’ve given something like $50-55 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and his net worth is around $124 billion. One question is how much of that she takes in the divorce and what she decides to do with it. She may well continue to contribute to the foundation or she might do her own thing. MacKenzie Scott, Jeff Bezos’ ex-wife, gave away like five billion last year (while he seems not to be doing so). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/6 "2021-05-04T16:53:47Z")
I think we need to stop expecting relationships to last a lifetime. Divorces shouldn’t be news to anyone. It’s natural and normal for relationships to end. Indeed, we should make divorce a lot easier and legally painless than it is now ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/7 "2021-05-04T17:09:26Z")
Isn’t that up to the couple? Some people make it a break-up, some people make it a blood-feud. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/8 "2021-05-04T17:10:24Z")
Doesn’t anybody stay together anymore?.. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/9 "2021-05-04T17:12:44Z")
Quite a pity, that two people who did a whole lot of philanthropic good for the world can’t get along. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/10 "2021-05-04T17:17:51Z")
A 1st cousin (once removed) of mine died in November of 2020. He was married (to the same woman) for 74 years… Brian ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/11 "2021-05-04T17:18:42Z")
> [@epbrown](#): > > Isn’t that up to the couple? Some people make it a break-up, some people make it a blood-feud. It’s not just up to the couple. There is actually a system in place. There are a lot of people who can’t afford to get divorced and they have no assets to fight over. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/12 "2021-05-04T17:19:15Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Doesn’t anybody stay together anymore?.. Been with my wife for 27 years. Just one more to go! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/13 "2021-05-04T17:20:18Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Quite a pity, that two people who did a whole lot of philanthropic good for the world can’t get along. Why a it a pity? There are a lot of people I might get along with that I would choose not to share a household or legal and financial ties with. Why can’t we just see this as a natural part of the cycle of a relationship? It’s neither good nor bad, neither a pity nor a cause for celebration. It just is. ---
**Author:** ![slash2k](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@slash2k](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slash2k)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/14 "2021-05-04T17:29:01Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Quite a pity, that two people who did a whole lot of philanthropic good for the world can’t get along. They seem to get along well enough; they’re planning to continue to work together on their philanthropic foundation. They just don’t want to be married to each other anymore. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e47774/32.png) [@epbrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/15 "2021-05-04T17:30:12Z")
That’s irrelevant. We live in a world where failing to signal a turn can have them chasing you for miles and trying to kill you. If one or both parties aren’t rational about ending the relationship, no system is going to get good results. And relationships are an area where people feel almost no obligation to be rational. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/16 "2021-05-04T17:32:11Z")
No, it’s not irrelevant. Divorce is too difficult and expensive for many people who want to be divorced and aren’t fighting over anything. It’s one of the number one unserved legal needs of poor people. The system absolutely is a barrier. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/17 "2021-05-04T17:39:45Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Been with my wife for 27 years. Just one more to go! What’s going to happen then? 😮 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/18 "2021-05-04T17:48:02Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Divorce is too difficult and expensive for many people who want to be divorced and aren’t fighting over anything. Do you have a cite? ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/19 "2021-05-04T17:53:44Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > What’s going to happen then? We “beat” Bill and Melinda. I’m being facetious btw. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2021, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379/20 "2021-05-04T17:57:59Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Doesn’t anybody stay together anymore?.. Doesn’t anybody stay in one place anymore? 🎶 > [@Acsenray](#): > > I think we need to stop expecting relationships to last a lifetime. Divorces shouldn’t be news to anyone. It’s natural and normal for relationships to end. This. Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bill-and-melinda-gates-getting-a-divorce/941379.md?page=2)