BILL Gates has opened up about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein amid claims it sparked his divorce.
The billionaire tech titan, 67, admits in a new BBC interview he would have been "much smarter" to not have ever talked to the shamed financier.
He also tells how he'd like to find love again after splitting from his wife of 27 years Melinda in 2021.
It has been suggested that Gates' links to disgraced financier Epstein were among the reasons for the shock separation.
The Microsoft founder has come clean over having "several dinners" with Epstein.
He told the Wall Street Journal in 2019 he "didn't have any business relationship or friendship" with Epstein after he pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges in 2008.
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Gates added: "Every meeting where I was with him were meetings with men."
It has been previously claimed he asked the paedophile for marriage advice at his mansion in New York.
Sources also claim that from 2011, Gates met with Epstein numerous times, the New York Times reported.
The outlet, which spoke to people "familiar with the relationship", said they met at least three times at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse – staying "late into the night" at least once.
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Speaking on BBC Two’s Amol Rajan Interviews, to air on Friday night, Gates said he is now "more careful" when setting up meetings.
Gates added: "It’s tough, everyone you meet and say ‘OK, I’ll go to dinner’, how careful should you be?
“I’m certainly more careful now than back when I did that, that’s a long time ago."
Gates admitted that anything that gave Epstein “credibility is kind of shameful”.
He and his former wife Melinda visited Epstein's home in 2013, which she later said she "regretted".
She told CBS in 2022: "I also met Jeffrey Epstein exactly one time.
"I wanted to see who this man was and I regretted it from the second I stepped in the door.
"He was abhorrent, evil personified. I had nightmares about it afterwards."
The pair split in 2021, amid claims of an affair and speculation Melinda had concerns over Gates' ties to Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019 after being accused of running a child sex trafficking ring.
In late 2019, an unnamed engineer wrote a letter to Microsoft's board claiming to have been having secret sexual encounters with founder Gates since 2000.
After an investigation began, Gates resigned as director in March 2020.
His team insisted, however, that the resignation was not related to the matter of the affair, which they said happened "almost 20 years ago" and "ended amicably".
When questioned about the affair and who he was sorry to by Rajan, Gates said he didn't think it was "relevant".
He said: "You’re going back more than 20 years ago, so I don’t think it’s relevant at this point.
"That’s between me and my family from a long time ago."
The business magnate also said there were "some regrets" of his split from Melinda, who he described as an "incredible person".
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But when asked if he'd like to find love again, he responded: "Sure. I'm not a robot."
Amol Rajan Interviews Bill Gates airs on BBC Two tonight at 7.30pm.
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