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Melinda Gates has reportedly been dating a former Fox News reporter for months TMZ.
Melinda, 58, philanthropist and ex-wife of billionaire Bill Gates, was spotted together with Jon Du Pre, 63, earlier this year at a Brooklyn Nets basketball game in April.
They have been dating for months, sources tell TMZ.
Melinda and her now ex-husband Bill, 66, announced in 2021 that they were ending their marriage after 27 years.
Du Pre was a TV correspondent for Fox News Channel in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He is now a Strategic Communications Specialist, according to his LinkedIn profile.
It is not clear how Melinda and Du Pre met. But TMZ reports that they have also been spotted, along with other family members, at Pelican Hill – a 5-star hotel in Newport Beach, California.
Melinda Gates, 58, has reportedly been dating former Fox News reporter Jon Du Pre for months, according to TMZ. The pair were spotted at a Brooklyn Nets game in April (pictured)
The philanthropist and her ex-husband billionaire Bill Gates divorced in 2021 after 27 years
Jon Du Pre was a correspondent for the Fox News Channel in the late 1990s and early 2000s. He is now a Strategic Communications Specialist, according to his LinkedIn profile
The new tattooed man in Melinda’s life posts selfies on his Instagram that let him enjoy the sun outside and walk in nature. A red lipstick is tattooed on his biceps
Last month, Gates opened up about her “incredibly painful” divorce from the Microsoft billionaire, explaining that she “just couldn’t stay in that marriage anymore,” as she shared her struggles to continue working alongside her former husband, even when she was in the in the middle of the split.
She said Fortune magazine in a recent interview that the COVID-19 pandemic has given her the “privacy to do what she had to do.”
“I had a number of reasons why I couldn’t stay in that marriage anymore,” she explained. “But the strange thing about COVID is that it gave me the privacy to do what I needed to do.
“It’s incredibly painful, in myriad ways, but I had the privacy to get through it.”
While they were together, the couple welcomed three children over the years — Jennifer, 25, Rory, 23, and Phoebe, 19.
They also co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000, and even after they went their separate ways, the former couple continued to run the foundation together — which Melinda says helped her get through it.
Melinda previously told Good morning America that her and ex-husband’s “philanthropy” helped them get through their divorce, claiming it “held them together, allowed more grace” and “softened things up” during some of the most “difficult” aspects of the breakup .
Melinda, who worked as a general manager of information products at Microsoft until 1996, when she left the company to focus on raising her family, met Bill at a trade show in New York, and they became husband and wife in 1994.
Ten years after their marriage, rumors began to circulate that Bill was having an affair with a Microsoft employee.
However, according to Melinda, that had nothing to do with why they decided to divorce.
Melinda, 58, and Bill (pictured in 2010), 66, tied the knot in 1994 and were together for 27 years before announcing their marriage would end in May 2021
She called the divorce “incredibly painful, in myriad ways,” but added that her “main concern” was “to protect her children.” The family is in the picture in 2019
“I definitely believe in forgiveness, so I thought we’d gone through some of that,” she said CBS Mornings in March.
“I gave every piece of myself to this marriage. I was committed from the day we got engaged to the day I got out.
“It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point when there was enough that I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
During the interview, Melinda also criticized Bill for his questionable friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and revealed that he continued to meet with him despite her having “nightmares” about him.
Melinda has previously criticized Bill for his questionable friendship with pedophile Jeffrey Epstein during an interview with CBS Mornings (pictured)
“I didn’t like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him,” she said. “I made it very clear how I felt for him.” The exes are seen at their wedding
“I didn’t like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him,” she said, adding that she had met Epstein once because she “wanted to see who he was.”
“From the moment I stepped through the door, I regretted it,” she continued. “He was repulsive, badly personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards.
“Any remaining questions about what Bill’s relationship with him was… those are for Bill to answer. I made it very clear how I felt for him.’
Bill called his meetings with Epstein a “huge” mistake in a statement to CBS. He said: Meeting Epstein was a mistake that I deeply regret. It was a substantial error of judgment.”
When asked about his previous infidelity in May, the business magnate said: Today“I’ve certainly made mistakes, and I take responsibility.
“I don’t think it’s constructive to dive into the details at this point, but yes, I’ve caused pain and I feel terrible about that. I have a responsibility to hurt my family a lot.”
He added of their split: “The divorce is definitely a sad thing. It was a tough year. I feel good that we are all moving forward now.
“Melinda and I will continue to work together. It was sad and tragic, but now we’re moving in together.’
As well as continuing to work on their foundation together, the exes seem to be working well together as they have reunited to escort daughter Jennifer down the aisle during her wedding to Nayel Nassar in October 2021.
They put their differences aside for the magical day, with both of them standing next to their daughter as they led her to the altar. They were also seen leaving the ceremony together.
The exes also appear to be co-parenting well as they have reunited to escort daughter Jennifer down the aisle during her wedding to Nayel Nassar in October 2021 (pictured)
Both stood with their daughter as they took her to the altar, and they were also seen together leaving the ceremony
The couple owned homes in five different states, but their main family home was a 66,000-square-foot Washington home worth an estimated $125 million (pictured)
After their divorce, the couple reportedly split their combined $130 billion net worth, but it has not been made public how exactly they divided their many assets and large fortune.
The couple owned homes in five different states, a fleet of cars, including a rare $2 million Porsche, an art collection that includes a $30 million book of Leonardo Da Vinci’s writings and sketches, and a series of private jets.
The Gates had a string of luxury mansions across the US — including Florida, California, and Wyoming — but their main family home was in Washington, near the Gates Foundation headquarters.
Melinda and Bill bought the sprawling 66,000-square-foot home for $2 million in 1988, but invested $63 million more in redesigning it. It is now worth an estimated $125 million.
The estate features a five-acre lot, an indoor-outdoor pool with an underwater music system and fossil designs on the floor, an artificial stream stocked with salmon and trout, and a beach with sand, some say, imported from the Caribbean.
The seven-bedroom mansion, reportedly with 18 bathrooms, houses a 20-seat Art Deco home theater, a 2,100-square-foot library (with two secret revolving bookcases and a bar) and a 2,300-square-foot reception area. room that can accommodate up to 150 people for dinner.