A petition for divorce, filed Monday by Melinda Gates at King County superior court in Seattle, Washington, obtained by TMZ, said their marriage was "irretrievably broken."
It also showed that they didn't sign a prenuptial agreement, which is a contract signed before getting married to specify the division of assets should the marriage fail. Instead, the divorce papers showed the Gateses had signed a separation agreement to divide their assets.
In addition, the papers showed they had each assembled a team of high profile lawyers to handle their divorce.
One of the lawyers listed as representing Melinda Gates is Bellevue-based attorney Sherri Anderson. She also reportedly represented Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in his split from MacKenzie Scott in 2019, which was the world's most expensive divorce.