When Elizabeth Holmes, the Theranos founder, married Billy Evans in 2019, his wealthy family were reportedly left “flabbergasted”.

Once listed by Forbes as the world’s youngest “self-made woman billionaire”, the young entrepreneur had lost control of her blood-testing company and was facing a costly fraud trial by the time she tied the knot.

Evans, eight years Holmes’s junior and a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), first met the Silicon Valley sensation at a party in 2017 and proposed just two years later.

Amid speculation that Holmes was in need of someone to fund her legal defence, those close to Evans, then 27 and heir to the Evans Hotel Group chain of luxury hotels in southern California, reportedly attempted to intervene.

“His family is like, ‘What the f— are you doing?’ It’s like he’s been brainwashed. [He says,] ‘The media has it all wrong about her,’” a former colleague of Evans said at the time.

Evans warned over ‘biggest mistake’ of his life

Another source told the New York Post that said Evans’ “image-conscious” parents were “flabbergasted” by their son’s decision.

“He’s had a lot of people very close to him sit him down and have a talk,” the source said, revealing Evans was warned by loved ones that he could be making “the biggest mistake” of his life.

Evans and Holmes were undeterred by the resistance, according to the source.

“The relationship is opportunistic for the both of them. Elizabeth needs a lot of support in her life right now, and Billy is looking for whatever way he can raise his profile,” they said.