Money cannot afford to buy love

Divorce — it is blind to one’s social class, political persuasion or economic circumstances.

Only last week, billionaire couple Bill and Melinda Gates announced to the world they were going their separate ways.

The pair announced their divorce in joint statements posted on Twitter on Monday, saying “we no longer believe we can 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,” they said.

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Bill and Melinda first met in the 1980s when Melinda joined Bill’s company, Microsoft.

The couple has three children and jointly run the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The organisation has spent billions fighting infectious diseases and encouraging vaccinations in children.

Bill Gates (65) is the fourth wealthiest person in the world, according to Forbes, and is worth US$124billion.

He reportedly made his money through the firm he co-founded in the 1970s, Microsoft, the world’s biggest software company.

After announcing the shocking decision, the pair added: “We ask for space and privacy for our family as we begin to navigate this new life.”

Their 25-year-old daughter, Jennifer Gates, wrote on Instagram: “It has been a challenging stretch of time for our whole family.

”I am still learning how to best support my own process and emotions.”

“Amai vaJohn kwavo, baba vaJohn kwavo,” sang Zimbabwean musician Alick Macheso in his all-time classic “Amai VaRhubi”.

This is exactly what happened to this power couple.

Their decision to call time on the 27-year marriage proves money can buy almost anything under the sun, but not love.

Is this not the reason why we see well-heeled men leaving their plush homes in the capital’s leafy suburbs to seek love from seemingly unrefined vendors living in wooden cabins in the ghettos?

So topical has the Bill and Melinda Gates divorce been that it has dominated discussions in many homes, kombis and workplaces.

“Oh, love is an emotional attachment. The moment you find that you are getting a raw deal, it’s better to move on. They made the right decision and if I had the means, I would throw them a divorce party,” said one woman who identified herself as Chihera in Kuwadzana.

She said there was nothing as uncomfortable in life as sticking to someone whom you know no longer has affection for you.

“What has happened to these two is a lesson to some of our young children who think they can fall in love and marry someone for money. These two people have all they need and there is no report of them having been starving each other of foodstuffs.

”We have been given a big lesson here. People get it wrong when they cling to someone for what he has and not assessing as to whether the two really bond. Where there is no love, there is no love and one must not force it,” interjected one elderly man.

He also questioned why people stick to relationships that do not work.

“Mukoma, pasina rudo hapana. Nyangwe pakaita mari hapana, hapana,” he said.

Mr James Mushongera of Glen Norah said the couple’s decision to divorce shows they were honest about how they felt and were true to themselves.

“When people get married, we expect them to stay together until death separates them, but there is nothing you can do when you discover you are living with a porcupine in the home.

”It is better to secure your happiness first . . . there is no need to lie to the world that all is well when the opposite is true,” he said.

The most comforting takeaway from all this was an assurance made by the couple that they will continue working together in their Foundation.

“This is the best thing to do. It is a good thing for us to learn that you can divorce and remain good friends . . .

”Divorcing some people, especially here in Zimbabwe, is as if you have committed a crime.

”They will bash you at any given opportunity and tell everyone who cares to listen how bad you were in bed and how demanding your parents are.

”I agree, divorce is bad, but these two are parting ways in an amicable way . . .,” said one Chipo Chitekesu of Mbare.

Love or hate Bill and Melinda Gates, but their divorce was a major talking point last week.

Inotambika mughetto.

 

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