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NEW YORK: A former Bloomberg journalist revealed how she fell in love with an imprisoned former pharmaceutical executive dubbed “America’s most hated man” after covering his arrest, in a love story that took over social media on Monday (21 from December).
Journalist Christie Smythe told Elle magazine in an article published Sunday that she left her husband for Martin Shkreli, who is serving seven years in prison for defrauding investors.
READ: New York, FTC sues ‘pharmaceutical brother’ Shkreli and others over Daraprim price increases
Several US outlets commented on the story on Monday, some accusing her of violating journalistic ethics and others praising her for telling her story.
Shkreli, who once ran Turing Pharmaceuticals, became famous for suddenly raising the price of the drug Daraprim in 2015 by 5,000 percent, from $ 13.50 per pill to $ 750.
He also drew attention in 2015 when he bought for $ 2 million the single edition of an album by rappers Wu-Tang Clan titled Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
He had smiled during a Congressional hearing that examined his actions, becoming known as “Pharma Bro.”
Smythe, 37, had helped break the news of Shkreli’s arrest for securities fraud in December 2015. The earlier drug controversy had nothing to do with the charges.
Smythe sat in Brooklyn court during his trial and was present for his sentencing in 2018.
She described to Elle how she gradually fell in love with him during visits to see him in prison.
“I told Martin I loved him. And he told me he loved me too,” Smythe said, recalling one visit in particular.
“It’s hard to think of a time when I would feel happier,” the magazine quoted her as saying.
Smythe, who left Bloomberg in 2018 and divorced her husband in 2019, said she would wait for Shkreli while he serves the remaining three years of his sentence.
He also mentions that they may try to have children.
“Going public is a huge relief, no matter what people think,” Smythe tweeted Sunday night.
“You have no idea how difficult it is to keep this kind of story down. So messy and complicated. I’m glad it was told well.”
During Shkreli’s trial, his lawyer described him as a self-taught genius, mildly autistic.
Shkreli had been revoked on bail after offering a reward for anyone who grabbed a lock of hair from former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. He insisted it was a joke.
