Melinda Gates is NOT Engaged And No Longer Dating Jon Du Pre Despite Rumors Sparked By Diamond Ring
Melinda French Gates is not engaged to Jon Du Pre and the pair are no longer dating, RadarOnline.com has learned.
The philanthropist and ex-wife of Bill Gates sparked wedding rumors when she was spotted wearing a diamond ring on her engagement finger over the weekend after arriving by helicopter in New York City.
Sources revealed in November 2022 that Melinda, 59, was romantically intwined with Du Pre, 65, who was once an anchor on Fox News. They were said to have been seeing each other for a few months.
However, the romance has apparently come to an end, because a spokesperson for Melinda told People on Monday that she "is not engaged and is no longer dating Jon Du Pre.”
They were photographed at events together in 2022 like an NBA game as well as hanging out with family in Newport Beach. Du Pre was a Fox correspondent from the late ‘90s to ‘00s.
The relationship followed Melinda's 27-year marriage to Bill Gates, which ended in a bitter divorce that was finalized in August 2021.
Sources said Melinda had been planning to divorce Bill since 2019, and ended up filing in May 2021.
The couple released a joint statement on social media at the time of their split that read: "After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage."
"Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives."
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They co-founded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 and share three children together.
Melinda later revealed her decision to file for divorce was partially motivated by the fact that Bill had continued communicating with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Melinda did not sign a prenup, and ended up walking away with billions of dollars in assets from Bill and his companies. Her net worth is now estimated at $11.1 billion, according to Forbes.
After news of their divorce broke, reports surfaced that Bill once told his buddies they had a "loveless" marriage. There were also allegations that he was unfaithful.
The New York Times wrote in a bombshell report following the divorce that Bill “pursued women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.”
The billionaire later admitted that more than 20 years earlier, he'd had an affair with a former Microsoft employee.
Since their divorce, Bill has begun dating Paula Hurd, the widow of Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, who passed away in 2019. They were spotted together at a pre-wedding celebration last month.