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- Bill and Melinda Gates' marriage is "irretrievably broken," according to the couple's divorce filings.
- The couple announced their upcoming divorce Monday after "a lot of work on our relationship."
- They first met at Microsoft in 1987, and have been married for 27 years.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Before they announced their plans to get divorced on Monday, Bill and Melinda Gates had already separated, according to divorce filings shared by TMZ.
Melinda officially filed for divorce on Monday, and said that her 27-year marriage to Bill was "irretrievably broken." Bill is listed as respondent to the filings, and signed the papers.
Microsoft cofounder Bill and philanthropist Melinda announced the upcoming divorce in matching tweets posted to their personal Twitter accounts Monday. The tweets said that the couple decided to end the marriage "after a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship."
"We no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in this next phase of our lives," they added.
But Melinda used stronger words in the divorce filing, filed Monday in King County, Washington.
"This marriage is irretrievably broken," she wrote as petitioner of the divorce filing, adding that the couple were separated.
In the divorce filings, Melinda also said that they did not have a prenup and asked for their real property, personal property, and debts to be split according to a separation contract they had drawn up. She did not ask for spousal support.
Bill Gates first met Melinda French in 1987 when she joined Microsoft as a product manager, though she said that her mom didn't think that seeing the CEO was a good idea at first.
The couple married in Hawaii in 1994, and moved into a lavish home, nicknamed "Xanadu 2.0," in Medina, Washington. They had three children, and set up The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation together.
In past interviews, they have praised both each other and their marriage. Melinda Gates told Insider in 2019 that Bill was "incredibly supportive" and had encouraged her to develop her career. She added that the couple still did the dishes together every night to keep the partnership equal.