Bill Gates and his wife Melinda have announced that their divorce after 27 years of marriage.
The 65-year-old Microsoft founder and his 56-year-old spouse dropped the bombshell news in a joint statement on Twitter on Monday, May 3.
In a message shared with his 54.7 million followers on the platform, Bill Gates wrote:
"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage."
The statement continues: "Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives."
They added: "We continue to share a belief in that mission and will continue our work together at the foundation, but we no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives.
"We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.
According to BBC News, the couple first met in 1987 at a trade fair in New York, after Melinda (neé French) joined Microsoft to work as a marketing manager.
Gates, currently estimated by Forbes to be the fourth wealthiest man in the world, married Melinda in a private ceremony held in Hawaii in 1994. They went on to have three children together: Jennifer, Phoebe, and Rory.
The pair went on to kickstart a number of high-profile philanthropic initiatives, including the jointly-managed Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In addition to this, the couple also publically championed the so-called "Giving Pledge", which calls upon billionaires to commit to giving away the majority of their wealth to charitable causes.
Gates himself stepped down from Microsoft's board of directors in March of 2020 to focus more on his philanthropism.
In a statement posted on LinkedIn, Gates wrote that he wanted to "maintain the friendships and partnerships that have meant the most to me continue to contribute to two companies of which I am incredibly proud, and effectively prioritize my commitment to addressing some of the world’s toughest challenges."