Days after explosive revelations in newly released Jeffrey Epstein files alleged that Bill Gates contracted sexually transmitted diseases after having unprotected sex with Russian girls, his ex-wife, Melinda Gates, described the situation as “just sad.”

The files further alleged that Mr Gates sought Mr Epstein’s help to secretly drug his then-wife with antibiotics to conceal the infection.

“Sad. Just unbelievable sadness. Unbelievable sadness… It’s just sadness. I left my marriage,” said Ms Gates, who neither denied the accusations nor vouched for her ex-husband’s character, in an interview with NPR on Tuesday, which suggested that Mr Gates’ alleged sexual indiscretion contributed to her decision to divorce him.

Ms Gates said she had to walk away from her decades-old marriage to the Microsoft founder without explicitly denying assertions that he constantly cheated on her with Russian girls and pumped her with antibiotics to prevent her from contracting the STD.

“I had to leave my marriage. I wanted to leave my marriage,” stated Ms Gates. “I felt I needed to eventually leave the foundation. So it’s just sad. That’s the truth.”

The Gates finalised their divorce in August 2021 after 27 years of marriage with a multibillion-dollar settlement that placed Melinda on the world billionaires’ list. 

The Justice Department on Friday released over three million files on disgraced and convicted sex offender, Mr Epstein, who later died by suicide in a Manhattan jail in August 2019.

Among the files are emails Mr Epstein sent to himself about his fallout with Mr Gates over a botched business deal. In a July 2013 email, the sex offender said he felt insulted that Mr Gates asked him to delete all correspondence regarding the Microsoft founder’s STD and “your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your penis”.

Mr Gates’ team vehemently denied the allegations on Friday, saying the emails demonstrated Mr Epstein’s “frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame”.