Elizabeth Holmes was 19 when she started her health care company Theranos. As a child, she said she wanted to “change the world” and carved her life out to make sure she would make an impact. And she has. Just not in the way she imagined. Her start-up Theranos claimed it had found a new way of taking blood samples. Just one drop of blood could be used for multiple tests, claimed Holmes. Bill Clinton once interviewed her, then-vice-president Joe Biden even toured the Theranos’ lab in 2015, and Rupert Murdoch invested in her company. But now, Holmes – along with her ex-partner, both in business and love, Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani – have been accused of conning the world. The one-time billionaire and Balwani face numerous counts of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud after a series of investigations revealed that Theranos’ technology didn’t actually work. Here’s how the romance between Holmes and Balwani turned sour in the process. Who is Alexandre Grimaldi-Coste, illegitimate teen son of Monaco’s Prince Albert? How did they meet? Holmes, who is now married to hospitality heir Billy Evans , was just 18 years old when she met Balwani in China. He was 38. During her testimony at her trial, she told jurors that she believed he had been a successful businessman and had worked with Bill Gates during Microsoft’s early days, reports CNBC. She said she had approached him about starting a company she had tried to build when she was in high school, hoping to get business advice from him. When asked what impact her relationship with Balwani had on her work at Theranos, Holmes said the following, according to CNBC: “He impacted everything about who I was and I don’t fully understand that.” The romance Holmes started Theranos in 2003 and just six years later Balwani joined as its president, despite having no background in medicine or pharmaceuticals. Holmes told jurors at her trial that Balwani was in charge of operating the company’s labs and handling financial projections. Balwani and Holmes, who dated for 12 years, didn’t tell investors or company staff about their relationship. Its about time: U.S. Files Criminal Charges Against Theranos’s Elizabeth Holmes, Ramesh Balwani https://t.co/JnQxVuOrDT pic.twitter.com/qkJXJW1UxB — Ben Tseng (@BenjaminTseng) June 16, 2018 In fact, the couple went to great lengths to ensure nobody knew about their relationship. In the famous podcast by ABC called The Dropout, many former employees who worked at Theranos under Holmes and Balwani expressed shock at discovering the two were romantically linked. The pair split in 2016, right around the time concerns surrounding Theranos and the validity of its technology began to grow. The rise and fall of the company is also documented in investigative journalist John Carreyrou’s book Bad Blood . Feuds and frenemies: Meghan Markle’s roller coaster 2021, wrapped The texts During her trial, the US government released texts between Holmes and Balwani, with prosecutors saying the messages reveal that his professional responsibilities at Theranos may have been tainted by his affection for the Theranos founder, according to Al Jazeera. Just started reading "Bad Blood". Wow. Never has a book made me feel so angry. Anxious to see how the Elizabeth Holmes trial will go. Also their text conversation is a literal meme. pic.twitter.com/6Ih8A7AJGU — Laura Sarah Dorman (@LauraDorman5) December 25, 2021 Many of the messages went viral on social media. In one message, Balwani urges Holmes not to give up on her dreams and to keep “fighting”. In another message he says, “missing you in every breath and in every cell”, to which she replied “ditto”. Shock allegations Holmes accused Balwani of emotional and sexual abuse during the trial, including rape, reports CNBC. She said she had been under Balwani’s control for a decade, that during their relationship he accused her of “mediocrity” as an entrepreneur, and that physical abuse would follow the criticism. Inside the luxury lives of Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault Holmes also revealed handwritten notes she said Balwani had given her . They included instructions on how she should act and speak. She said he managed everything, from her diet to her relationships. Balwani has denied all accusations of abuse. The claims are in contrast to the statements she made to the SEC in 2017, where she said she was the CEO, and therefore the ultimate decision maker for the company, reports CNBC. Want more stories like this? Follow STYLE on Facebook , Instagram , YouTube and Twitter .