Viewers have been curious about Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes’ real-life connection and the current status of the Theano’s ex-lovers ever since The Dropout debuted on Hulu.
The former Theranos partners had a long-lasting covert romance, as shown on Hulu’s The Dropout, which debuted on March 3, 2022 and stars Amanda Seyfried and Naveen Andrews as Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, respectively. Holmes and Balwani went to considerable efforts to keep their connection a secret from potential investors, workers, and of course the media, frequently lying about it to allay worries about a potential conflict of interest. Holmes and Balwani’s friendship obviously play a big part in Hulu’s The Dropout, even though this was by no means the most flagrant lie in the tragic tale of Theranos. However, the show is only one chapter in their love journey.
The connection between Holmes and Balwani is still making news today. The romance between the former corporate leaders has emerged as a major debate point in on-going trials and lawsuits since Theranos’ demise in 2018 as a result of its scandal. In her own fraud trial in 2021, Holmes levelled a number of shocking allegations against Balwani years after their split (more on those claims below). The defense team for Balwani has vigorously denied these allegations, but the courts are still taking into account the odd interaction between the former couple—one that frequently seemed to transcend personal and professional lines.
How did Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes first connect?
In 2002, Holmes and Balwani had their first encounter. While participating in a Stanford University language immersion programmer, the couple first met in Beijing, China. At the time, Holmes was a senior in high school, age 18, and Balwani was a married, 37-year-old student finishing his MBA at the University of California, Berkeley. The two were 19 years older than each other overall.
According to Vanity Fair, Holmes stated at her trial in 2021, “I heard that he’d been a tremendously successful businessperson, that he’d worked with Bill Gates in the early days of Microsoft.” “I talked to him about wanting to create a business and a business I tried to develop in high school, and I asked for his assistance,” the speaker said.
Where did Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes started to date?
Holmes and Balwani maintained contact after their encounter in Beijing. Balwani often contacted the aspiring entrepreneur during her first year of college at Stanford, according to Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, the 2018 book that served as the inspiration for ABC News’ “The Dropout” and the Hulu series of the same name. By the time Holmes walked out of college in 2004 to start the business that would eventually become Theranos, Balwani and Holmes had become a couple. By 2005, Holmes had moved in with Balwani and was a condo owner in Palo Alto.
As Theranos grew, Holmes and Balwani kept their relationship a secret from investors. Balwani, on the other hand, was concentrated on his own projects; he had established a $40 million was the final sale price of a multimillion-dollar company. However, he eventually joined his fiancée at her workplace.
When did Sunny Balwani and Elizabeth Holmes break-up ?
As Theranos started to fall apart in 2016, Holmes and Balwani’s relationship came to an end. Balwani made the decision to leave the firm at that time after seven years as its COO (however, some reports claim he was fired). His resignation coincided with a number of investigations into Theranos’ testing facilities and Holmes herself by the FBI, FDA, and CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services).
Holmes and Balwani were both prohibited from ever owning or managing a blood testing facility in the future as a result of these investigations. For “raising more than $700 million from investors via an extensive, years-long deception in which they inflated or made misleading representations about the company’s technology, business, and financial performance,” the SEC charged Holmes and Balwani with securities fraud in March 2018. Although Holmes personally resolved this matter, Balwani was still defending himself as of 2019.
Balwani is now charged with both fraud and criminal offences. In 2018, a federal grand jury accused President Balwani and Holmes on two counts of conspiracy to conduct wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. In January 2022, Holmes was found guilty on many charges of fraud. When will Balwani’s trial begin?
- On Monday, her fourth day testifying, defence attorneys finished interrogating Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes.
- Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the former president of Theranos, was accused of physical and psychological abuse by Holmes in an emotional testimony.
- Holmes, who is charged with 11 counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to conduct wire fraud, now has the chance to be cross-examined by the prosecution.
ELIXABETH HOLMES
