Melinda Gates Recalls Relationship That Caused Years Of Body Image Issues

Melinda French Gates opened up about how she overcame a past toxic relationship where she felt insecure and too conscious about her body.

On The Jamie Kern Lima Show, the entrepreneur-philanthropist said her body-consciousness began in high school and only got worse after she met a boy at Duke University.

Ms Gates, 60, said that her former boyfriend's frequent remarks about her appearance had a negative influence on her confidence and body image, affecting her throughout her 20s and 30s. “[It] was really not a positive relationship for me at all,” she said.

“He cared a lot about how I looked and said a lot of things about it to me, and that really is not okay. It really is not,” she added.

Ms Gates said that by the time the relationship ended, she had “inculcated too many of those messages” and took “too long” to end things.

She noted she sought advice from a therapist and “several different nutritionists” to better understand her "anxiety" concerning her body.

At 60, however, she is embracing her body with renewed self-assurance and learning to put her well-being and joy before others' expectations.

She revealed that she did not regain her sense of self-worth until she was in her 40s. “I would say that carried through with me into my 20s and even into my 30s. And it wasn't, probably, until I got to 40 that I got more OK with who I was,” she said.

Ms Gates now has a much healthier perspective on her physical appearance. She is now concerned about staying healthier and fitter without much regard for weight or size. “I want to be fit because I wanna be able to do all the things I want,” she expressed.

The billionaire remarked that you “have so much more mind space” and peace when you let go of your “perfectionism around weight and body image.”

Apart from seeking professional assistance, Ms Gates said that concentrating on her career also improved her relationship with her body.

Melinda and her ex-husband Bill Gates got married in 1994 and separated in 2021. They are parents to three children: son, Rory, 25, and two daughters, Jennifer, 28, and Phoebe, 22.