Bill Gates' daughter Phoebe Gates has revealed that she is in a relationship with Paul McCartney's grandson Arthur Donald.
On June 26, the 21-year-old daughter of Microsoft's billionaire founder confirmed her long-speculated romance with Arthur, the son of Beatles legend Mary McCartney's eldest daughter. In a photo diary for NylonPhoebe documented her graduation from Stanford University, where she received a bachelor's degree in human biology in just three years.
Sharing photos from the June 15 ceremony, the fashion entrepreneur shared a candid snap of herself with the 25-year-old, whom she referred to as her “boyfriend.”
“My boyfriend Arthur carrying me after the ceremony,” Phoebe captioned an image of her being carried on Arthur's back. She shared another photo with her boyfriend taken of her during her graduation party that night, in which Phoebe wore a Tiffany blue silk dress while Arthur donned a blue suit jacket and matching T-shirt.
“With Arthur, he cleans up really well,” Phoebe said beneath a photo of the couple hugging.
In addition to the rough launch of the relationship, Phoebe shared another image of her mother, Melinda French Gates, giving her own daughter's graduation speech. “My mother gave Stanford's 133rd commencement address; Graduating early to see her pronounce this was a dream come true!” she wrote.
This was the first time Phoebe confirmed months of speculation about her relationship with Arthur. The couple initially sparked romance rumors in October 2023, when she shared a photo on Instagram of them smiling in front of the Eiffel Tower. “Paris on film,” he captioned the post.
The duo also attended the FX premiere. Fight: Capote vs. The Swans in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art earlier this year. However, in an interview with Bustle Last March, Phoebe declined to comment on her and Arthur's relationship status.
As for Arthur, he is the eldest son of British photographer Mary McCartney and her ex-husband, television producer Alistair Donald. He attended University College School in London before graduating from Yale University in 2021 with a major in History.
The celebrity couple may not come as a surprise to some, considering Phoebe's famous family has close ties to Arthur's aunt, Stella McCartney. In August 2023, then-college student and her roommate Sophia Kianni collaborated with the fashion designer on a capsule collection of bags to honor the Women's Tennis Association and the 50th anniversary of the US Open. The limited-edition collection also served as a promotion for the Stanford graduate's upcoming digital fashion platform, Phia.
speaking to daily women's clothing In October 2022, Phoebe revealed that her mother has a close relationship with Stella. “She and my mom are actually good friends,” she told the outlet. “Even when she was little, she sent me things and little notes and I was very excited. “I’ve been asking my mom forever and ever if I could meet her.”
Phoebe finally met Stella in London while interning at British Vogueand said they “hit it off instantly.”
“I felt so connected to her, I feel like because she was able to use the platform that she had, because of who her father is, and then take that and instead of saying, ‘Oh, people define me by this,’ she took that and said, ‘Okay, I have this immense privilege, now I’m going to use it to leverage something,’ and what she chose to leverage was launch a brand that is completely sustainable,” Phoebe said.
“So I think we're deeply connected because that's a lot of me thinking, 'Okay, I'm my parents' daughter, that gives me immense privilege, but it's not what defines me.' I want to have my own identity, I want to be my own person, I want to get away from that, but how can I do it in a way that I can create some kind of change?'”
Phoebe is the youngest daughter of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. The former couple, who divorced in 2021 after 27 years of marriage, are also parents to daughter Jennifer, 28, and son Rory, 23. She previously had a relationship with fellow Stanford student Robert Ross .
Meanwhile, Arthur was romantically linked to Ava Phillippe, the daughter of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe, in 2018.
