Bill Gates’ former wife Melinda French Fates was seen holding hands with entrepreneur Philip Vaughn, who is apparently her new boyfriend, Page Six reported sharing their photographs as they got off a helicopter ride in New York City Wednesday morning. The 60-year-old philanthropist was married to Bill Gates for 27 years before they announced their divorce in May 2021. Three years after her divorce, Melinda said she was open to dating but, meanwhile, she got linked to Jon Du Pre, a former Fox News correspondent.
In an interview with TIME, Melinda said she was looking to meet someone “who’s open to learning and who’s vibrant, and who’s smart and somebody who challenges me and that I challenge”. In the June interview, she did not reveal whether she was dating someone. She just kept it at, “Not that I’m ready to talk about.”
French Gates was romantically linked to Jon Du Pre in November 2022, but a spokesperson said they were “no longer dating” hinting that there was a brief period of dating. They were spotted attending a Nets and Celtics game in April 2022. It was reported that Melinda was no planning to get remarried but was dating the former Fox News correspondent.
In the TIME interview, French Gates revealed that she and her ex-husband Bill Gates secretly separated and had been trading off living at the family home since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I separated first before I made the full decision about a divorce,” she said. “And to be able to do that in private while I’m still trying to take care of the kids, while still making certain decisions about how you’re going to disentangle your life—thank God.”
Who is Philip Vaughn?
According to Vaughn’s LinkedIn profile, as reported by Page Six, he worked at Microsoft, the company Melinda’s ex-husband Bill co-founded, for nine years. Philip is also the founder and chairman of Tavour, a craft beer delivery service, which was started in 2011.
Bill Gates has been dating Paula Hurd, the widow of late Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd, for over two years.
