Bill Gates has officially confirmed his new relationship with Paula Hurd, just weeks after referring to his divorce from Melinda French Gates as his greatest regret.
The former power couple married in 1994, had three children, and divorced in May 2021 after 27 years together.
In recent years, 69-year-old Bill has been seen with 62-year-old Paula Hurd, the widow of former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, multiple times.
However, it wasn’t until Tuesday that the billionaire Microsoft co-founder openly discussed his love life during an appearance on The Today Show. “I’m lucky to have a serious girlfriend named Paula,” he said. “We’re having fun, going to the Olympics, and enjoying lots of great activities.”
During the interview, Bill also talked about his new memoir, Source Code: My Beginnings, which chronicles his life and the early days of Microsoft. The book was published on Tuesday.
In the acknowledgements section of the memoir, Gates gave a special mention to Hurd, calling her a “thoughtful friend.” “Early readers of the manuscript included Paula Hurd, Marc St. John, and Sheila Gulati,” the memoir reads. “The close read from dear and trusted friends provided much-needed thoughtful and insightful feedback at critical stages in writing.”
Gates’ confirmation of his new romance comes less than a month after he spoke about his broken relationship with 60-year-old Melinda, describing the unexpected divorce as “the mistake I most regret.”
“I’m more cheerful now,” Bill said during an interview with The Times in December. “That was the mistake I most regret.”
Paula Hurd, once a tech executive herself, now works as an event planner, organizer, and philanthropist.
