It’s the first time that the philanthropist has given her account of their high-profile split.
After decades of appearing as a golden couple, Melinda and Bill shocked fans worldwide when they announced that their seemingly unshakable 27-year- marriage was over in 2021.
Now that the dust has settled on the divorce, Melinda, 57, bared her soul in a forthcoming interview with CBS Mornings chat show host Gayle King.
In the sizzling trailer for the interview, which airs on 3 March, she speaks of being so upset that she struggled to keep it together at work. but also of Bill’s extramarital affair for the first time.
‘Even during the difficult times in the last 18 months while we were going through this process behind the scenes, we were able to show up and work effectively together.
‘I’m not saying it was easy but I’m saying for me I had days where I had tears the hour before an online meeting or I’d be angry but I still rose to be my higher self and I think we can continue to do that.’
It was revealed last year that Bill had an affair with a female Microsoft employee six years into their marriage. Addressing his betrayal Melinda spoke of how they had attempted to work through their issues but that there had been lingering trust issues.
‘I certainly believe in forgiveness so I thought we had worked through some of that she told Gayle adding: ‘It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened, there just came a time where there was enough there that I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had.’
In spite of this, she insisted that she had grieved their marriage. ‘I think it’s really important to say, look, I had a lot of tears for many days, I mean days where I’m literally lying on the floor on the carpet… thinking: ” How can this be? How can I get up? How am I going to move forward?’
‘[There were] days [where] I was certainly angry. That’s part of the grieving process. You’re grieving a loss of something you thought you had and thought you had for your lifetime. This is painful stuff. ‘
‘At the end of the day though I had started on this. journey of healing and I feel like I’m starting to get to the other side. And I do feel like I’m turning a page in the chapter now. It’s 2022 and I’m actually really excited about what’s to come and life ahead of me.’
Melinda’s interview comes after further allegations that Bill pursued relationships with other women while working at Microsoft surfaced last summer but the reports have not been substantiated.
In his yearly address in December, he spoke of how his ‘personal world has never felt smaller since he and Melinda divorced.