Phoebe Gates and Arthur Donald, the grandson of Sir Paul McCartney, have ended their romantic relationship, and Gates said she is already dating someone new, according to reports and comments she made on her podcast.
People magazine reported that Gates, 22, and Donald called time on their relationship "a while back." On a recent episode of her podcast The Burnouts, which she co-hosts with social activist and influencer Sophia Kianni, Gates described her new partner as someone who does not use Instagram and said that the dynamic felt unfamiliar and refreshing to her. "It's amazing. It's the best thing ever. And this is completely new for me. I've never been with someone like this," she told her co-hosts.
Gates also discussed sharing content with the new partner via her shopping app, Phia, and recounted showing him a recent video she helped produce. She said he watched without the social-media behaviors she has often encountered in other relationships.
Gates and Donald began dating in mid-2023 and were publicly seen together in May 2024 at a party in California, where Gates posted a rare Instagram story featuring the pair and two blue heart emojis. The relationship drew attention because of Gates's family background; she is the daughter of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Donald is the grandson of former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney.
Neither Gates nor Donald has publicly detailed the reasons for the split. Gates's podcast remarks focused on her current relationship rather than the end of her previous one.
Gates has increasingly maintained a public profile through social media and her podcast, which has covered topics ranging from culture to technology and activism. The new relationship and her comments about a partner who eschews Instagram underscore ongoing public interest in how children of prominent figures navigate dating and privacy in the age of social media.
Representatives for Gates and Donald did not issue immediate statements to media outlets reporting the split. The couple's time together, by public accounts, spanned roughly a year, during which occasional public appearances and social-media posts signaled the relationship to followers.
As with many relationships involving public figures, Gates's dating life has attracted coverage that blends personal disclosure and public curiosity. Gates's recent comments on The Burnouts represent one of the most direct acknowledgments of her changing personal life since she and Donald were first linked in 2023.