Bill Gates not engaged to Paula Hurd despite wearing ring: Microsoft billionaire's rep

San Francisco, July 20:  Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is not engaged to his new girlfriend Paula Hurd, a representative for the billionaire said.

Rumours of engagement recently occurred after Hurd was photographed wearing a piece of jewellery on her ring finger while out with Gates, 67, in the US, reports People magazine.

According to a spokesperson for the Microsoft co-founder, Hurd has had the ring for a long time and it does not represent an engagement.

“Our office can confirm that the ring Mrs Hurd was seen wearing has belonged to her for decades,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.

The relationship became public in February, following Gates' divorce from Melinda French Gates in August 2021. Gates and Melinda have three grown children.

Hurd, 61, is the widow of late Oracle CEO Mark Hurd and the one-time boss of Hewlett-Packard, who died in 2019. He was 62.  The couple had two daughters, Kathryn and Kelly, as per the report.

Gates was seen with Hurd in February, watching the men's singles final at the Australian Open in Melbourne. In September 2022, Gates and Hurd were photographed sitting next to each other at the Laver Cup at the O2 Arena in London and in October 2021, both were photographed at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California, but they weren't sitting together at the time.