NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Melinda Gates began working with divorce lawyers well over a year before her split with Bill Gates was announced last week, partly over concerns about her husband's dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 56-year-old spoke with attorneys from several firms as early as October 2019, saying the marriage was "irretrievably broken", the Journal reported on Sunday (May 9), citing documents and people familiar with the matter.

Her unease about Mr Gates' ties to Epstein dates back to at least 2013, the paper said.

The New York Times in October 2019 reported that Mr Gates had met Epstein several times, and once stayed late at his townhouse in New York.

A spokesman for Mr Gates said at the time that the meetings had centred on philanthropy.

Epstein had died in jail two months prior while awaiting trial on federal charges related to sex trafficking.

The divorce was negotiated during the Covid-19 pandemic, involving legal teams working with a mediator to divide their fortune, which the Bloomberg Billionaires Index pegs at US$145 billion (S$192 billion).

The couple said last week that they plan on remaining co-chairs of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and will continue to jointly lead.

They have vowed to give away the vast majority of their wealth.