Smiling Bill Gates and ex Melinda share their first photo with baby granddaughter
A smiling Bill Gates and his ex-wife Melinda have shared the first photos of their baby granddaughter – a month after she was born.
Billionaire Gates – who split from his ex-wife in 2021 after 27 years of marriage – wrote ‘I can’t wait to watch you discover the world’ next to a shot of him cradling the newborn who was wearing a pink babygrow.
Melinda, 58, also uploaded a photo of her with the baby – which appeared to be taken on a separate occasion – as she said ‘there is nothing like holding your first grandchild.’
Daughter Jennifer, 26, announced the birth of her child – whom she shares with her equestrian husband Nayel Nassar – a month ago today via an Instagram shot of the baby’s feet.
Melinda Gates uploaded a shot of her granddaughter on Friday afternoon, telling her followers there is ‘nothing quit like holding your first grandchild’
Bill posted a photograph at the same time, captioned: ‘I can’t wait to watch you discover the world’
But they have since remained tight-lipped about the girl with no shots of her uploaded to any of their social media profiles until today.
The baby’s face was not visible in any of the photos but they do show the baby’s mop of black hair. Her name has also yet to be revealed.
The co-ordinated posts were published online at the same time though they appear to have been taken on separate occasions.
Wearing a bright orange jumper, Melinda appeared to still be wearing a ring on her wedding finger in the shot.
She wrote: ‘It seems like just yesterday I was holding Jenn at this age. Now she has a baby of her own—and I am bursting with pride watching her and Nayel step into their new role as parents.’
Jennifer also uploaded a photo of her beaming as she held the child. It was captioned with just a flower and a star emoji.
The family has remained tight-lipped about the birth of the little girl. On March 6 Jennifer confirmed she had given birth with an Instagram shot of the newborn’s fee
Jennifer also uploaded a shot of her holding the baby to Instagram on Friday
Jennifer is pictured with her equestrian husband Nayel Nassar while pregnant in November last year
Gates, 65, and Melinda announced their shock divorce in May 2021, claiming at the time: ‘We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple.’
In a joint statement shared on Twitter, they added: ‘After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage.’
The duo first met in the 1980s when Melinda was an employee of Gates’s Microsoft.
They married in Hawaii in 1994 and together they share three children of which Jennifer is the oldest.
They also jointly run the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation which has donated billions to fighting causes such as infectious diseases.
At the time Jennifer wrote: ‘It’s been a challenging stretch of time for our whole family. I’m still learning how to best support my own process and emotions.’
Gates was later accused of pursuing women who worked for him at Microsoft and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation while he was still married.
In 2019 Microsoft’s board of directors opened an investigation into claims he ‘sought to initiate an intimate relationship with a company employee in the year 2000.’
He admitted to having one affair during their decades-long marriage.
And later Melinda also acknowledged the divorce was in part sparked by her ex-husband’s relationship with disgraced pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Jennifer Gates gave followers a glimpse into her stunning baby shower thrown by her mother, Melinda Gates last year
She also thanked her mom, Melinda, 58, for ‘hosting the incredible evening,’ who previously said she ‘couldn’t be more excited to meet the little one’
Last year she told CBS Mornings’ Gayle King: ‘It was many things. But I did not like that he’d had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein. I made that clear to him.’
At the time Gates said his meetings with Epstein – who died in prison in 2019 – were a ‘substantial error in judgement’ and ‘a mistake that I regret deeply.’
Melinda also told King that the former billionaire couple were ‘friendly’ but no friends.
After their divorce the couple split their $130 billion net worth though it has not been made public how their fortune was divided.
The duo appeared to put their differences aside in October 2021 when they both walked Jennifer down the aisle for her New York wedding.
Jennifer – a medic and former internationally-ranked equestrian athlete – met husband Nassar on the equestrian circuit.
Nassar, who was born in Chicago, Illinois, is currently ranked 44th in the world as a showjumping rider.
Last year Jennifer shared an intimate glimpse into her baby shower which was thrown by mom Melinda in December last year.
Stunning photos showed her cradling her bump in a form-fitting, sheer red dress.
Bill and Melinda Gates met in the 1980s when Melinda was an employee of Gates’s Microsoft. They divorced in 2021
The couple share three children: Jennifer, 26, Rory, 23, and Phoebe, 20
At the time she gushed: ‘Still on cloud nine after this baby shower.
‘Thank you to all the people who have given me and baby girl so much love from near and far and @melindafrenchgates for hosting this incredible evening. Our hearts are all so full.’
