If you’re still reeling from the shock of an announcement that Bill & Melinda Gates’ divorce was, then you better brace yourselves. 

Some details about their private and public lives are now resurfacing, which may prove to be even more shocking than the sudden announcement of their split.

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If the thirst tweets and flirtatious DMs that people all over the world were sending to Bill wasn’t enough of a disaster, some quirky aspects about his private & public life, are again back in focus.

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According to an old article that was published in 1997 in Time magazine, the tech magnate had an arrangement with his wife, Melinda, that would allow him to go away on one, weekend-long vacation to meet his ex-girlfriend, Ann Winblad, every year. 

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As per the report, Bill had this arrangement as of 1997.  

A subsequent report also states that Bill had a similar arrangement up until 2001. It is not clear at this point if this arrangement continued after 2001. 

People who have followed the life of the tech & business mogul closely will know that while they were dating, Ann had a lot of influence on Bill.  

After they broke up, they remained very close friends, and would meet up to discuss technology, computers and business, and would ride dune buggies, hang-glide or simply walk on the beach, at Ann’s North Carolina residence.

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Bill sought to keep this arrangement going on during his marriage, and with Melinda’s permission he managed to do so. 

It is even said, that Winblad had a major involvement in Bill, finally getting married to Melinda.  

Bill actually asked Ann for approval, and she blessed the couple, saying that Melinda would be a good match for Bill, because of her intellectual stamina.

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Bill & Winblad broke up in 1987, and in 1994, Bill married Melinda, in a private ceremony in Hawaii. 

Apart from a generic sense of schadenfreude, or enjoying seeing someone in misery, one aspect of why people are invested in this divorce is the financial aspect of it.  

It is estimated that assets worth $148 Billion, will now be divvied up between Bill Gates & Melinda French. 

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This is set to be one of the most expensive divorces in history, second only to that of Amazon Mogul Jeff Bezos & MacKenzie Scott.

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More importantly, how would it affect the functioning of their joint philanthropic missions, that were a part of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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