The billionaire philanthropist Melinda Gates sparked rumors that she and her last public boyfriend, former Fox News correspondent Jon Du Pre, were engaged when she was spotted wearing a massive diamond ring on that finger over the weekend, but a rep for French Gates tells Page Six exclusively that the hearsay is not true.
“Melinda is not engaged and is no longer dating Jon Du Pre,” the spokesperson says.
It’s not known when exactly she and the reporter parted ways.
French Gates, 59, was photographed disembarking a helicopter with a male assistant in New York City. Although she was dressed casually in a pair of capris and a white blouse, the “Moment of Lift” author raised eyebrows with the bauble on her left hand, which helped carry her large Chanel tote.
Melinda Gates And Jon Du Pre were first linked in 2022 when they were spotted attending a Nets and Celtics game in April of that year.
TMZ reported that the now-former pair, in addition to some members of their families, stayed at Pelican Hill, a five-star hotel in Newport Beach, Calif.
The “Prodigal Father” author, 65, shares three children with his ex-wife, Gina: sons Kasey and Jonny, who graduated from BYU, and daughter Jessie, who graduated from University of Utah.
French Gates and her ex-husband, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, announced their split in May 2021 after 27 years of marriage. They finalized their divorce three months later.
“After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage,” they said in a joint statement at the time.
She later admitted that Gates’ association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein played a role in their divorce.
“I did not like that he had meetings with Jeffrey Epstein, no. I made that clear to him,” the former computer scientist told Gayle King on “CBS Mornings.”
“He was abhorrent. He was evil personified. My heart breaks for these women.”
Gates, 68, has been dating late Oracle CEO Mark Hurd’s widow, Paula Hurd, since 2023, and the duo became red-carpet official earlier this month during the 10th Breakthrough Prize Ceremony at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles.