Bill Gates said Wednesday night what his ex-wife Melinda had tried to warn him about years ago: That his relationship with financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was “a huge mistake.” Speaking to Anderson Cooper on CNN, Gates said, “I had several dinners with him, hoping that what he said about getting billions of philanthropy for global health, through contacts that he had, might emerge. When it looked like that wasn’t a real thing, that relationship ended. But it was a huge mistake to spend time with him, to give him the credibility of being there… You know, there were lots of others in that same situation, but I made a mistake.” Gates and Epstein met in 2011 and continued to develop a friendship over several years. Epstein even gave Gates advice on ending his marriage. On Wednesday, Gates also called the finalization of his divorce “definitely a very sad milestone.”