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Phoebe Gates has some college stories to tell!
The 22-year-old daughter of Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates graduated early from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Science in human biology in June 2024 — but years before that, she had a very memorable encounter with a roommate that involved self-tanning and waking up to an unexpected sight.
“Do you remember when we first actually bonded because you were butt a– naked in the mirror in our dorm room?” Gates asked Sophia Kianni, her former roommate and current business partner, on their new podcast, The Burnouts.
“One night, I’m, like, deep in REM. I really value my sleep, but I hear literally out the corner of my ear her sing-song voice, which is very recognizable,” she continued on the April 1 episode. When Gates opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of her roommate “literally just butt a– naked in front of the mirror looking at herself.”
In her defense, Kianni — who said her Iranian heritage helps her to tan well in the sun, but that she prefers to fake tan to lower her risk of skin cancer — thought Gates was “dead asleep” at the time, although she admitted her singing was “too loud.”
Although Gates said the image “is scarred into my retina, and it will never ever go away,” she also thought that Kianni looked absolutely great — and truly, it was a bonding experience.
“That was the moment where I was like, ‘Okay the ice has officially broken, and I love this woman,’ ” she added.
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Kianni, 23, admitted that she was “surprised” by how comfortable she felt around Gates and said she continued to apply self-tan even after realizing her roommate wasn’t asleep.
“I was like, this is actually crazy how comfortable I feel with this girl. I’m usually never that person,” Kianni said. “I’m wall super closed off, and I was like, she’s so fun and open.”
Gates went on to explain that wasn’t the only thing that brought them together.
“We go deep about things like because we both had had those high school boyfriends we’ve broken up with,” Gates said, adding that both of their parents had also gone through divorces as well.
Gates and Kianni, who are also working to launch their company Phia, previously told PEOPLE their goal for the podcast isn’t to be “polished” but instead to be honest about what it’s like to be in your 20s and just starting out in your career.
“Our dream listener is the girl who’s grinding, she’s moving up the ladder, she’s working hard, she’s falling down and getting back up,” she added. “And she’s listening in her AirPods on the way to work.”
The first episode of The Burnouts are available now.
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