How Big Of An Age Gap Does Bill Gates Have With Girlfriend Paula Hurd?

The details of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates' nasty behavior towards his ex-wife, Melinda, prior to their divorce, would send anyone running, but his new girlfriend, Paula Hurd, doesn't seem threatened. The couple was confirmed to be in a relationship back in 2023, although photos of the pair at sporting events, such as the Lavender Cup, in 2022, hint that the romance had been blossoming for some time.

The couple made their red carpet debut in 2024 during the Breakthrough Prize ceremony, and Gates publicly addressed Hurd on "Today" in February 2025, gushing: "I'm lucky to have a serious girlfriend named Paula. We're having fun. Going to the Olympics and lots of great things." Gates met his ex-wife in 1987 while she was working under him as a production manager at Microsoft – while Melinda had originally declined the date, there's no doubt that getting asked out by your boss carries a certain amount of weight. Melinda was also the youngest recruit and only woman in her group of new hires to the company, making the nine-year age gap between her and her future husband all the more poignant.

However, far from many wealthy men who date much younger women, Gates prefers the same age difference as Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and his wife, Lauren Sanches. Hurd is seven years younger than Gates. Keeping with Gates' type, Hurd is also a philanthropist, even pushing Baylor University's Give a Light Campaign past the $1 billion mark after a donation of $7 million.

The trajectory of Microsoft founder Bill Gates' new girlfriend, Paula Hurd, might seem as though she's the perfect candidate to take up the role of tech CEO wife. Hurd was left a widow after her husband of nearly 30 years, former Oracle CEO Mark Hurd, died in October 2019. While his cause of death was never specified in announcements of his death, it is rumored that an illness, such as cancer, likely escalated within five weeks after he had taken a leave of absence. 

Mark was born two years after Gates, but the difference between a five and seven year age-gap in your 60s doesn't seem as significant as when you're in your early 20s. Hurd's late husband had also had a wife before Paula, Elizabeth Butler, so she likely won't have any qualms with being anyone's second wife.

Paula and Mark also had two daughters together, Kathryn and Kelly, who will undoubtedly fit in with Gates' own three children. While his not-so-humble brag shows why his daughter, Jennifer, is seemingly so out of touch, growing up with a wealthy tech father means both of their kids will have more in common than not. Gates was the first public romance Paula has been linked to since the passing of her husband, and they seem to be in a better place than where Gates and his ex-wife, Melinda, currently stand after their messy divorce.