After 27 years of marriage, Bill and Melinda Gates end their relationship. This will make Melinda the billionaire’s most famous ex. Few still remember Ann Winblad, the woman Bill had a relationship with in the 1980s. However, Ann and Bill still went on vacation together every year during his marriage to Melinda.
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During the marriage of Bill and Melinda Gates, which lasted 27 years, the former Microsoft CEO had a very special relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Between 1984 and 1987, Gates was in a relationship with Ann Winblad, and they have remained good friends ever since. So good, in fact, that the two went to Ann’s beach house together for a weekend every year, with Melinda’s permission.
– Ann Winblad. Foto: Fred Prouser
Bill Gates met software expert and venture capitalist Ann Winblad through an online conference. Their shared love of science got them talking, but the distance – she’s originally from Minnesota, while he lived over 2,000 miles away in Seattle – their first dates took place virtually. After their breakup in 1987, they kept in touch, and that same year Bill met his now almost ex-wife. He is said to have even asked Ann’s permission before proposing to Melinda. Importantly, Melinda agreed that the former couple would continue their annual vacation, a tradition that continues nearly three decades later.
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