As a couple, Phoebe Gates and Arthur Donald made sure to support one another’s biggest moments before they broke up in 2025.
“My boyfriend, Arthur, giving me a lift post-ceremony,” Gates captioned a June 2024 photo essay for Nylon from her college graduation from Stanford University.
In the snap, Donald gave Phoebe a sweet piggyback ride after the ceremony.
“I can’t think of a better ending,” she gushed to the magazine of her commencement. “It’s the end of one chapter, and beginning of another, and it was such a privilege to have this time with our family and friends to celebrate this.”
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Phoebe is the youngest child of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, who split in 2021 after 27 years of marriage. The Microsoft founder and Melinda also share daughter Jennifer and son Rory.
Arthur has an equally famous family as he is the eldest son of exes Mary McCartney and Alistair Donald, who also share son Eliot. Mary is one of Paul McCartney’s five children. The Beatles legend shares Heather, Mary, Stella and James with late wife Linda Eastman and daughter Beatrice with ex Heather Mills.
Phoebe and Arthur’s paths crossed long before they started dating in 2023.
“[Stella McCartney] and my mom are actually good friends,” Phoebe told Women’s Wear Daily in October 2022, referring to one of Arthur’s maternal aunts. “Even when I was little she would send me stuff and little notes and I’d be so excited. I’ve been asking my mom forever and ever if I could meet with her.”
Keep scrolling for Phoebe and Arthur’s complete relationship timeline:
October 2022
Before Phoebe and Arthur started dating, she publicly gushed about his aunt Stella.
“I felt very connected to her, I feel like because she’s been able to use the platform she had, because of who her dad is and then she took that and instead of being like, ‘Oh, people define me by this,’ she took it and she was like, ‘OK, I have this immense privilege, now I’m going to use it to leverage something,’” Phoebe recalled to WWD, noting she met the fashion designer the previous summer.
She added, “What [Stella] chose to leverage is to launch a brand that is completely sustainable. I think we are really deeply connected because that’s a lot of what I think about: ‘OK, I’m my parents’ daughter, that gives me immense privilege, but it’s not what I’m defined by. I want to have my own identity, I want to be my own person, I want to branch away from that, but how do I do that in a way where I can yield some sort of change?’”
October 2023
One year later, Phoebe and Arthur — who has a private social media profile —made their Instagram debut on her account.
“Paris on film 
,” she captioned a pic of the pair in France.
Fellow activist Sophia Kianni called the couple “Mom and Dad” in an Instagram comment.
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March 2024
While speaking with Bustle, Phoebe declined to comment on her romance with Arthur but did offer a few details about her dating dealbreakers.
“If I had a partner who didn’t respect my personal freedoms or the personal freedoms of women around the country to choose what’s right for ourselves and our families, I definitely think that would be a deal-breaker,” she said.
April 2024
In an Instagram photo dump of the spring, Arthur made a few cameos. In one snap, Phoebe walked behind him in a garden. She also took a candid shot of Arthur cooking in a white bathrobe.
June 2024
“Graduated,” Phoebe wrote via Instagram, alongside a pic of Arthur giving her a piggyback ride.
September 2025
News broke that Phoebe and Arthur split after two years of dating. At the time, she hinted on her “Burnouts” podcast that she moved on.
“I’m dating a guy who literally doesn’t have Instagram,” Phoebe said. “He deletes it, and it’s amazing. It’s the best thing ever, and this is completely new for me. I’ve never been with someone like this.”
