Inside Elizabeth Holmes and Ramesh ‘Sunny’ Balwani’s secret relationship – from how they met in China and became Theranos business partners, to their bitter split and fall from grace

Dec 30 , 2021

Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes and her ex-partner Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani. Photos: Reuters, @MalpracticeLaw1/Twitter

The former billionaire, who once had Joe Biden tour her lab in 2015 and was interviewed by Bill Clinton, accused Balwani of abuse during her fraud trial

The Silicon Valley entrepreneur’s relationship with her ex-boyfriend Balwani is documented in podcast The Dropout and book Bad Blood by John Carreyrou

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.

How did they meet?

Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes and ex-boyfriend Ramesh Balwani. Photo: @profblue/Twitter

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

Elizabeth Holmes’ ex-partner, Ramesh Balwani. Photo: thefamouspeople.com

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.