Bloomberg Reporter Quits Job, Marriage for ‘Pharma Bro’ Martin Shkreli
Christie Smythe has quite the fraught relationship with the jailed former Turing Pharmaceuticals CEO.
Spencer Platt/Getty
A former Bloomberg News reporter quit her job, divorced her husband, and froze her eggs for imprisoned former CEO Martin Shkreli, known as the “Pharma Bro,” who now refuses to talk to her, Elle reported Sunday. Christie Smythe first broke the news of Shkreli’s arrest on fraud charges in December 2015. Shkreli had first gained notoriety months earlier when his company raised the price of an anti-parasite drug from $13.50 to $750. Smythe said she and Shkreli started dating after he was incarcerated in 2018. “It’s hard to think of a time when I felt happier,” Smythe says of their relationship. In a statement, Shkreli told Elle that “Mr. Shkreli wishes Ms. Smythe the best of luck in her future endeavors.”
Smythe took to Twitter on Sunday night after the Elle article was published and offered a rebuttal of sorts to those criticizing her choice of love interest and decision to leave her old life:
I realize it's hard for many people to accept that 1. Martin is not a psychopath, and 2. a woman can choose to do something with her life (which does not affect you) that you in no way approve of. But that's OK.
— Christie Smythe (@ChristieSmythe) December 21, 2020
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.