A wave of celebrities came under scrutiny when new Epstein files were released last week — and one name that immediately grabbed attention was Bill Gates, particularly claims that he contracted STDs from “Russia girls.”

Now, the Microsoft co-founder is breaking his silence and setting the record straight.

What Epstein wrote

Bill Gates, 70, has previously spoken about his past association with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, calling it a “huge mistake” to have any connection with the convicted sex offender.

“In retrospect, I was foolish to spend any time with him,” he told the Wall Street Journal a year ago.

But last week, their association came back into the spotlight as the Department of Justice published 3.5 million new documents. Some of those included shocking claims that Gates contracted STDs from “Russia girls,” according to an email from Epstein in 2013. The message, believed to have been sent by Epstein to himself, despite being addressed to “Bill”, stated:

”To add insult to the injury you them [sic] implore me to please delete the emails regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda and the description of your p***s.”

Gates denied the allegations in an interview with 9News.

“Apparently, Jeffrey wrote an email to himself. That email was never sent. The email is false,” he said.

”I don’t know what his thinking was there. Was he trying to attack me in some way? Every minute I spent with him, I regret, and I apologize that I did that.”

Inside their relationship

The Microsoft co-founder explained that he first met Epstein in 2011 and had several dinners with him afterwards but insisted he never visited Epstein’s notorious island or had any sexual relations with women.

”The focus was always, he knew a lot of very rich people, and he was saying he could get them to give money to global health. In retrospect, that was a dead end,” Gates said.

Gates’ ex-wife, Melinda, also weighed in on the matter during NPR’s Wild Card podcast, reflecting on the broader impact of Epstein’s crimes.

”Whatever questions remain there of what I don’t — can’t even begin to know all of it — those questions are for those people and for even my ex-husband. They need to answer to those things, not me,” she said.

Ex-wife’s reaction

”I think we’re having a reckoning as a society, right? No girl, no girl should ever be put in the situation that they were put in by Epstein and whatever was going on with all of the various people around him. It’s beyond heartbreaking, right? I remember being those ages those girls were, I remember my daughters being those ages.”

”So for me, it’s personally hard whenever those details come up, right, because [it] brings back memories of some very, very painful times in my marriage.”

Melinda and Bill Gates were married for 27 years before finalizing their divorce in 2021. Later, Melinda revealed that her ex-husband had an affair with a Microsoft employee in 2019 — a claim that Gates himself confirmed in 2021.