Former Bloomberg journalist Christie Smythe's "jaw-dropping" story about falling in love with Martin Shkreli had the internet buzzing on Sunday and Monday, and now she's following up with Elle, where her tale first appeared. Smythe once more spoke with interviewer Stephanie Clifford, who notes it's been "a weird 18 hours," asking Smythe about the response she's been seeing and how she feels now that her story is out there. "It was a tremendous relief," Smythe says of the narrative going public, adding she decided to speak out about her odd relationship with Shkreli—which led to her leaving her husband and losing her job at Bloomberg—as a way of "getting something off my chest." She calls reaction to her first Elle interview "a little depressing and saddening," as she says many people have called her a "victim" or "mentally ill" for ostensibly falling prey to Shkreli's manipulation.
"Neither of those things are accurate," she tells Clifford. "I respect and understand if people criticize my decisions. ... I put it out there. It's fair game. But I made these choices very consciously." She also says she's seen a good amount of support from family and friends—though not from her ex-husband, who sent her a couple of texts that were "not happy"—and that she's not going to stop engaging online with people who are still curious about her story. "Why would I slink off?" she says. "That does not sound like me." She also reveals what she likes most about Shkreli: namely, "his intelligence and his energy and endless curiosity." "He can talk about anything, literally anything," she says. As to whether she thinks she'll ever hear from him again, she responds to Clifford, "I don't know. I could not possibly guess what he will do." If you still can't get enough of this ongoing saga, there's more here. (More Martin Shkreli stories.)
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