'We're having fun': Bill Gates speaks about relationship with Paula Hurd for the first time
One week after admitting his split from ex wife Melinda French was the mistake he "most" regrets, Bill Gates has opened up about his new relationship with Paula Hurd.
Chatting with Savannah Guthrie on the US Today show, Gates spoke about his new relationship for the first time since they began dating toward the end of 2022.
"I'm lucky to have a serious girlfriend named Paula," the Microsoft co-founder said.
"We're having fun, going to the Olympics and lots of great things."
Watch the video above.
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Bill Gates has spoken about his relationship with Paula Hurd for the very first time. AP
Gates and Hurd, the widow of former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, were first linked when they were seen at the Laver Cup in September 2022, and again at the Australian Open in January 2023.
Their relationship was confirmed by a source close to the couple in February 2023, with engagement rumours swirling shortly after.
Hurd and Gates were spotted out together in New York City with Hurd sporting a large ring on her ring finger, however a spokesperson for Gates told People the pair were not engaged and the ring had belonged to Hurd for "quite some time".
Finally, in April 2024, the couple officially went public making their red carpet debut at the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony.
The couple were first linked at the end of 2022. Anadolu via Getty Images
Gates and French divorced back in August 2021, with Gates telling The Times in January 2025 that it "was the mistake I most regret."
"You would have to put that at the top of the list," he said of his divorce when asked if he felt it was his "only failure" in life.
"There are others but none that matter. The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years."
The couple had met back in the '80s when French joined Microsoft, tying the knot in 1994 and welcoming three children over the years.
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Gates said he had "absolutely" planned on having a long-lasting marriage with French, sharing that he idolised his parents 45-year relationship.
"I encouraged Melinda to be a little calmer than my mother was, but we were both quite driven," he explained.
"I spent more time with the kids than my dad did, but the ratio was still 10:1, with Melinda doing most things for the kids. We had a great time."
Gates and Melinda French first met back in the '80s, tying the knot in 1994. Ron Galella Collection via Getty
Gates is one of the rare billionaires who has managed to have any semblance of a regular family life.
"There is a certain wonderfulness to spending your entire adult life with one person because of the memories and depth of things you have done and having kids together," he said.
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"When Melinda and I met, I was fairly successful but not ridiculously successful – that came during the time that we were together. So, she saw me through a lot."
He his divorce from French "was the mistake I most regret". Instagram
And although Gates said that his divorce was "tough", sharing that both he and Melinda were "miserable" for "at least two years", he did admit that now, nearly four years on from the split, things are looking up.
"I'm more cheerful now," he told the publication.
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