Bill And Melinda Gates' Marriage Draws To Official Close: Reports

SEATTLE, WA — A King County judge signed off on the divorce of Bill and Melinda Gates on Monday, officially bringing the couple’s 27-year marriage to an end.

The couple announced in May that they were splitting after Melinda French Gates filed for divorce, saying in the court filing that the marriage was “irretrievably broken.” According to multiple news outlets, Melinda Gates said that she would not be changing her name and did not offer any spousal support.

NBC News reported Monday that decisions regarding the division of marital property were outlined in a separation agreement that were not part of Monday’s court filing.

In May, Gates, 65, and French Gates, 56, issued a joint statement indicating that they no longer believed they could grow together as a couple.

"After a great deal of thought and a lot of work on our relationship, we have made the decision to end our marriage," the couple wrote in the statement. "Over the last 27 years, we have raised three incredible children and built a foundation that works all over the world to enable all people to lead healthy, productive lives."

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has $50 billion in assets, NBC News reported and the couple has continued to operate the foundation together since announcing their split. The couple also announced that if they were unable to continue in their respective roles with the foundation, French Gates will resign her positions as co-chair and trustee. Gates would buy her out of the foundation and she would receive resources from him to do her own philanthropic work as part of the agreement, NBC News reported.

Gates' net worth is estimated at around $152 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, CNN reported. That. means he and French Gates could each be worth around $76 billion following the divorce.

The couple first met in 1987 at a trade show in New York City. Both worked at Microsoft, Bill as the CEO and Melinda as a marketing manager. They married in 1994. In 1996, Melinda left Redmond-based Microsoft to focus on starting a family. They have three children together, Jenn, Rory, and Phoebe.

Bill Gates stopped handling day-to-day operations at Microsoft in 2008.