Melinda French Gates Explains Why She Divorced Bill Gates in First Televised Interview

In her first televised interview since the shock split last year, the billionaire philanthropist told CBS Mornings' Gayle King she had initially forgiven her husband, until she realized the trust was gone.

"Well, I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that," the 57-year-old said, when asked about the Microsoft founder's indiscretion.

"It wasn't one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn't healthy, and I couldn't trust what we had."

On May 3, 2021, the couple jointly announced they had decided to divorce after 34 years together, 27 of them married.

That same month, it emerged Gates had had an affair with a staffer around two decades earlier "which ended amicably", but was investigated by the company in 2019.

"Microsoft received a concern in the latter half of 2019 that Bill Gates sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000," the company said in a statement, per The Washington Post. "A committee of the Board reviewed the concern, aided by an outside law firm to conduct a thorough investigation. Throughout the investigation, Microsoft provided extensive support to the employee who raised the concern."

It is not clear when Melinda first learned of the affair; during the interview, King asked her if she felt anger or pain, as public perception of the wife of one of the wealthiest men on the planet might otherwise suggest she "has it all."

"I think its really important to say look, I had a lot of tears for many days," she confessed. "Days where I'm literally lying on the floor, the carpet this close to me, thinking 'How can this be? How can I get up? How am I going to move forward?'"

"And days I certainly was angry — that's part of the grieving process. You're grieving a loss of something you thought you had, and thought you had for your lifetime. I mean, this is painful stuff."

She added: "At the end of the day though, I started on this journey of healing, and I feel like I'm starting to get to the other side. And I do feel like I'm turning a page in the chapter now. I mean, it's 2022, and I'm actually real excited about what's to come in life ahead for me."

After the sneak peek aired, King was quick to point out that Melinda is a "very strong, accomplished woman," and that the full interview did not just focus on the divorce.

"This is not 'Oh, a woe is me', or 'I'm so sad' or 'I'm sitting in the fetal position'," the journalist insisted.

The full interview will air on "CBS Mornings" on Thursday.