Elizabeth Holmes dishes on hell and torture of prison life in first interview since fraud conviction
Disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes said life behind bars has been “hell and torture” as the former Silicon Valley darling broke her silence for the first time since being convicted of fraud.The mother of two young kids, who was sentenced to 11-plus years and is locked up at Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Texas, told People magazine she wakes up just after 5 a.m., earns 31 cents an hour teaching fellow inmates how to apply for jobs and undergoes treatment for post-traumatic stress.“It’s surreal.
People who have never met me believe so strongly about me,” she told the magazine.“They don’t understand who I am.
It forces you to spend a lot of time questioning belief and hoping the truth will prevail.I am walking by faith and, ultimately, the truth.
But it’s been hell and torture to be here.”In her first prison interview, she reflected on her life, her conviction and her future aspirations.The hardest part, Holmes told People, was watching her children leave through the secured glass door after each visit — a scenario that she said “shatters my world every single time.”“The people I love the most have to walk away as I stand here, a prisoner, and my reality sinks in,” the 41-year-old former tech executive, once celebrated as the next Steve Jobs, told the magazine.Holmes said she finds solace in the weekend visits with her partner, Billy Evans, and their children, William, 3, and Invicta, 2, as they pass the metal detectors at the all-women’s minimum-security prison.When they part, her children press their fingers together in a heart shape and say, “Mommy, this is our love,” according to People.“Our love is a superpower,” the mom tells her kids.Holmes said she has adjusted to prison life.She has stuck to a routine that includes lifting weights, rowing and running before starting work as a reentry clerk.She earns 31 cents an hour helping inmates prepare résumés and apply for government benefits while also working as a law ...