Ex-Bloomberg journalist reveals she fell in love with Martin Shkreli while covering trial and has been dating him while he’s in prison

Reporter compared her growing attachment to convicted fraudster as ‘slowly boiling yourself to death in the bathtub’

Martin Shkreli raised the price of a single Daraprim pill from $13 to $750 in September 2015  (Getty)

A journalist has revealed how she turned her life upside down after falling in love with the “most hated man in the world” Martin Shkreli, quitting her job, divorcing her husband and even freezing her eggs in the hope of having children with the convicted fraudster when he is freed from the jail.

Former Bloomberg News reporter Christie Smythe, 38, opened up about her love for “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli in an interview with Elle magazine, describing how she was “charmed by a master manipulator” but has no regrets.

“I fell down the rabbit hole,” Ms Smythe, adding: “I’m happy here. I feel like I have purpose.”

The journalist first met Shkreli in 2015 while covering his trial for fraud. Shkreli, dubbed “the most hated man in the world” after hiking the price of Aids drug Daraprim by nearly 5,000 per cent, was convicted in 2017 and sentenced to seven years in federal prison.

Smythe, who has not met Shekeli in over a year because of Covid-19 safety protocols at prisons, said she had frozen her eggs as she feared she would be too old to have children by the time the disgraced pharmaceutical entrepreneur had left prison. She said the pair had even decided the names of their children.

Shkreli, however, issued a statement appearing to distance himself from Ms Smythe. “Mr Shkreli wishes Ms Smythe the best of luck in her future endeavours,” he told Elle.

“That’s him saying, You’re going to live your life and we’re just gonna not be together. That I’m going to maybe get my book and that our paths will… fork up,” Ms Smythe said, describing the statement as “sweet”.

In May, Shkreli’s request to be freed on grounds of Covid outbreak in prison was denied by a judge, who said the 37-year-old had failed to demonstrate extraordinary and compelling factors that would require his release.

He was termed “delusional” in the court hearing for claiming that he could develop a cure for coronavirus by probation officials.

Ms Smythe, who said she had a “the perfect little Brooklyn life” before splitting up with her husband, confessed her love to Shekeli in the jail’s visitors’ room.

“I told Martin I loved him,” she said, recalling the room smelled of chicken wings. “And he told me he loved me, too.”

Ms Smythe has since maintained her relationship with Shkreli with her visits to the prison, phone calls, and emails.

The journalist now works remotely for a start-up and her boss knows about her relationship with the convict. She was drafting a proposal for a book about Shkreli and although she failed to find a publisher has since sold the movie rights.