Melinda French Gates holds hands with new entrepreneur boyfriend Philip Vaughn as they arrive in NYC via helicopter
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Add Page Six on GoogleMelinda French Gates has a new man!
The 60-year-old philanthropist, who divorced billionaire Bill Gates in 2021, was seen holding hands with her new boyfriend, entrepreneur Philip Vaughn, in photos exclusively obtained by Page Six.
The couple was snapped getting off a helicopter ride in New York City Wednesday morning with Vaughn exiting first and Melinda following close behind.
The pair then walked hand-in-hand before getting into an awaiting SUV.
For the outing, Melinda wore dark-colored pants and a short-sleeved overcoat. She completed the look with a floral scarf around her neck and a pair of sneakers.
Meanwhile, Vaughn sported an Army green T-shirt under a blue sweater and dark-colored pants.
According to Vaughn’s LinkedIn profile, he worked at Microsoft — the company Melinda’s ex-husband, Bill, co-founded, for nearly nine years. He is also the founder and chairman of Tavour, a craft beer delivery service, which was started in 2011.
Melinda’s new relationship comes three years after she and Bill, 69, announced and finalized their divorce.
During a March 2022 interview with “CBS Morning,” the mom of three revealed that the tech giant’s relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, as well as his affairs, played a role in their split.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” she shared with Gayle King before adding that she met Epstein, who died by suicide in jail in August 2019, “exactly one time” because she “wanted to see who this man was.”
“I regretted it the second I walked in the door,” she explained. “He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”
Bill also had a lengthy affair with one of his Microsoft staffers in 2019. However, Melinda said she and her ex had moved past his indiscretion before their divorce.
“I certainly believe in forgiveness, so I thought we had worked through some of that,” she explained to King.
“It wasn’t one moment or one specific thing that happened. There just came a point in time where there was enough there where I realized it just wasn’t healthy, and I couldn’t trust what we had.”
Following the divorce, Melinda said she and Bill remained “friendly” but certainly weren’t “friends.”
Prior to Melinda’s romance with Vaughn, she was dating former Fox News correspondent Jon Du Pre.
Page Six exclusively reported that the pair split after she sparked engagement rumors by wearing a massive rock on that finger.
Meanwhile, Bill has been dating Paula Hurd, the widow of late Oracle co-CEO Mark Hurd, for over two years.
Melinda and the “How to Avoid a Climate Disaster” author tied the knot in January 1994. They share three children: daughters Jennifer, 28, and Phoebe, 22, and son Rory, 25.
