Bill Gates is in love and loving it, but some can’t help to notice that the new woman in his life seems to favor someone from his past.
During a Feb. 4 appearance on the ”Today” show with Savannah Guthrie, the Microsoft founder had plenty of great things to say about his romance with 60-year-old girlfriend Paula Hurd.
“I’m lucky to have a serious girlfriend named Paula,” He said, further explaining what it is about Hurd that makes him so lucky. “We’re having fun. Going to the Olympics and lots of great things.”
It’s not clear how Gates and Hurd met but the two were first spotted together publicly in 2022 when they attended the Laver Cup in September of that year. Months later, they were seen again at the Australian Open in January 2023. By February 2023, their relationship was confirmed and in April 2024 they made things red carpet official by attending the Breakthrough Prize Ceremony together.
Fans on People’s website commented on Bill’s sweet confession.
One person in the comment section wrote, “Good for you, Bill. Be happy life’s short.”
Another wrote, “Tough to find a true partner when you’re drowning in an ocean of money.”
However, there were quite a few people who couldn’t help but notice that Hurd resembled Bill’s ex, Melinda French Gates. One person wrote, “Hmmm….She looks familiar,” and another said, “She kind of resembles his ex-wife Melinda!”
Previous to dating Hurd, Gates was married to his wife Melinda Gates for nearly 30 years. They tied the knot in 1994 and welcomed their three children, Jennifer, 28, Rory, 25, and Phoebe, 22. Together they also started their nonprofit the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to fight poverty, disease, and inequity in the world. But over the years, Gates accrued accusations of being unfaithful to Melinda and also ties to the late financier and child offender, Jeffrey Epstein — which is something Melinda did not want to be a part of. They divorced in 2021.
Like Gates, Hurd was also married before. She was the wife of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd before he lost his battle with cancer in 2019. The pair, who wed in 1990, were just months shy of making it to 30 years of marriage. Together they shared their two daughters Kathryn and Kelly Hurd. In her professional life, Hurd had a lengthy career in the tech industry and is now a philanthropist.
Days before appearing on the Today show, Bill reflected on his divorce with Melinda to The London Times and said, “The divorce thing was miserable for me and Melinda for at least two years.” He added, “that was the mistake I most regret.”
Later clarifying on Today he said, “Despite the fact that the divorce wasn’t great, having those three kids, the work we were able to do together — even if I knew that it [wouldn’t] last forever, I would still do it again.”
He added, “My business career, though, there’s been some up and downs, has been incredibly phenomenal. My kids are phenomenal. So it’s even hard for me to complain about things. I’ve moved past the divorce, and Melinda’s doing well. I’ve got a lot of work that I love to do. So I’m not really complaining about anything.”