Bill Gates‘s daughter Jennifer Gates made it clear on May 13 that she isn’t taking sides in her parents $150 billion divorce. The 25-year-old, who is also very close to her mother Melinda Gates, took to her Instagram story to share a photo of her and her Microsoft founder father, 65, cuddled up.
“Nothing better than quality time with family members,” Jennifer captioned the pic, adding a smiley face emoji.
Bill is smiling in the photo and looks summer ready in shorts and a blue polo. He has his arm around his eldest daughter Jennifer, who looks beach chic in white jeans paired with a turquoise and white blouse and tan sandals.
The sweet father daughter moment comes 10 days after Melinda and Bill filed for divorce, after nearly three decades of marriage. The longtime couple shared the surprising news in a joint statement on May 3 and said that they remain committed to the “mission” of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, but “no longer believe we can grow together as a couple in the next phase of our lives.”
Although Bill and Melinda’s younger children, son Rory Gates, 21, and 18-year-old daughter Phoebe Gates, have remained quiet about the split, Jennifer has previously shared on her public Instagram account that it’s been a “challenging” time for her entire family.
The day after the split was announced Jennifer revealed her thoughts on her parents’ break-up. “By now, you have heard the news that my parents are separating,” she posted to her Instagram Story, writing her message over a photo of wildflowers. “It’s been a challenging stretch of time for my whole family. I’m still learning how to best support my own process and emotions as well as my family members at this time and am grateful for the space to do so.”
“I won’t personally comment further on anything around the separation, but please know that your kind words and support mean the world to me,” she added. “Thank you for understanding our desire for privacy while we navigate the next phases of our lives.”
Jennifer graduated from Stanford University in 2018 and is now in her second year at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. Jennifer is passionate about equestrian show jumping and is engaged to grand prix horse rider Nayel Nassar.Jennifer gave her fiancee some Instagram love on May 13 as well and shared their engagement photo to her grid. “I can hardly wait to marry you!” she captioned her post, adding a shinning star emoji and tagging New York State as the photo’s location.