Bill Gates Had Affair with Physicist He Met at Work Years After Microsoft Probed Relationship with Female Employee

Bill Gates recently acknowledged having two affairs in the past while addressing employees at his charitable foundation. The Microsoft co-founder said one relationship involved a bridge player and another a physicist he met through work, as scrutiny of his past connections continues.

Bill Gates confirmed he had two affairs in the past during a recent town hall meeting with employees of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gates Acknowledges Past Affairs

The billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder addressed questions about his personal conduct during the internal meeting. His remarks come as his previous relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continues to face renewed scrutiny.

During the discussion with foundation employees, Gates said he had been involved in two separate relationships outside his marriage.

“I did have affairs, one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities,” Gates admitted. According to Gates, Epstein was aware of those relationships.

The admission offered new details about Gates’ personal life as public attention has increased in recent years regarding his conduct and past associations.

A spokesperson for Gates later confirmed that he addressed the matter during the meeting. “He spoke candidly, addressing several questions in detail, and took responsibility for his actions,” the spokesperson told PEOPLE.

Addressing His Relationship With Jeffrey Epstein

The town hall also included questions about Gates’ previous connection to Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

Gates apologized for spending time with Epstein and described the relationship as a serious error in judgment. “It was a huge mistake to spend time with Epstein,” he said.

At the same time, Gates emphasized that he was not involved in any illegal activity connected to Epstein. “To be clear I never spent any time with victims, the women around him,” Gates added. “I did nothing illicit. I saw nothing illicit.”

His comments come amid renewed attention following the release of documents by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Controversial Claims in Newly Released Documents

The recently released records included years-old emails in which Epstein allegedly wrote claims about Gates. The messages reportedly suggested Gates contracted a sexually transmitted infection from “Russian girls” and sought Epstein’s assistance in concealing it from his then-wife. Gates’ spokesperson has denied those claims.

While addressing foundation staff, Gates did not confirm the allegations contained in the emails but did acknowledge the affairs mentioned earlier.

One of the women Gates referenced appears to be Mila Antonova, a bridge player previously identified in 2023. According to the report, Antonova met Gates around 2010 when she was in her 20s through bridge events.

Questions about Gates’ relationships at work are not new. Microsoft previously investigated a claim involving Gates and a company employee.

In 2019, Microsoft examined an allegation that Gates had attempted to initiate an intimate relationship with an employee in 2000.

Gates stepped down from Microsoft’s board in 2020. At the time, a spokesperson for Gates said he had “an affair almost 20 years ago” with an unnamed woman and that the relationship ended amicably. The spokesperson also maintained that Gates’ decision to leave the board was “in no way related to this matter.”

Seeking Donations From Epstein’s Circle

In a separate interview with an Australian news outlet last month, Gates said he had met with Epstein partly to seek charitable donations from individuals within Epstein’s network.

The explanation added another layer to questions about why the two men remained in contact after Epstein’s earlier conviction for sex-related crimes.

Gates’ comments at the town hall mark one of the most direct acknowledgments he has made regarding his past affairs. The Microsoft co-founder, now focused primarily on global philanthropy through his foundation, said he regrets his association with Epstein and accepted responsibility for his personal mistakes.