Journalist Quits Job and Leaves Husband to be with "Life Partner" Martin Shkreli

[TragicMonkey]

Reminds me of the Ted Bundy and Richard Ramirez cases, among others.

What, those two got together?! I hate to imagine that wedding registry!

 

[cullennz]

I'm thinking that it's mostly an attraction towards powerful and domineering people. Whether you like it or not there's a certain appeal to "bad boys" who are willing to take whatever they want, and whomever they want, when they want. I have no problem admitting that I myself can find those kind of people very attractive. I have that kind of submissive streak. Although I personally find any murderous tendencies too unsettling and creepy even for me, and I'm pretty perverted mind you, I know for a fact that there are those who can ignore it or feel that it makes such guys even more attractive.

And yes it's an objective fact that men are way more likely to have those personality traits and actually behave like real "bad boys". Imagine how horrible, yet also very sexy, it would be if women were just as prone to that kind of predatory behaviour.

I am thinking it is probably more needy people getting off on scum tbh.

Maybe it gives them a "project" to think they can fix.

 

[The Atheist]

I've also noticed that the husbands of women who get busted for sex crimes always seem to leave them, whereas it's more of a toss-up if a wife in the same situation will do so. More often than not, they don't.

Stockholm Syndrome in play is how I see that one, and it is bizarrely common.

A distant relative (by marriage, thankfully) was jailed for multiple child sex offences, yet his wife stuck with him, and still is sticking with him as he serves his time.

 

[Puppycow]

Elle has posted a follow-up:

https://www.elle.com/life-love/a35036400/christie-smythe-stephanie-clifford-martin-shkreli-story/

I don't think she was paid for the article in any way. Apparently she just needed to "get it off her chest".

How did you feel about it, this long-held secret of yours basically being revealed publicly?

It was a tremendous relief. A huge part of me doing this is not image based. It's about just getting something off my chest. That's been really hard to carry around.

We're all in this journalism morass. So why did you agree to do the story?

Well, the COVID situation was getting worse and sitting around and doing nothing was not doing wonders for my anxiety. This felt like doing something—I don't know if it'll be effective, but it's been a very long time, and my nerves were just shot from having to carry around this story inside of me and not knowing what to do with it. I would always tell myself if someone comes to me, who knows what to ask and asks the right questions, I'll tell them.

Some were wondering about the dress:

People wanted to know about the fashion shoot.

It’s been so hard; this whole experience has been so hard. Getting to wear some fun clothes was a momentary moment of joy, essentially. I enjoyed it. I had gone through so much. I was expecting to go through much more in terms of being attacked online. So if I can have a little bit of pleasure and wear some fun clothes, fine, I will do that.

And we should be clear that they are not your clothes and you are not allowed to keep them.

Not my clothes.

 

[Puppycow]

Maybe she got to keep the dresses.

Can I just say that "The Vampire's Wife" is the perfect name for this clothing line? I checked out their catalog, and it's all stuff like this. "I'm married to a creature of the night from a bygone era, and he likes to see me in frocks made from 80s window treatments."

It's also the perfect line of clothing, and perfect name, to evoke the theme, "this is the frock I'm wearing while I carry a torch for depraved social parasite Martin Shkreli."

Probably not a coincidence that Elle chose that particular dressmaker, just to be cheeky.

https://thevampireswife.com/

They don't come cheap, apparently. Some of them run over £2,000.

 

[trustbutverify]

He's a douchebag and she's a pathetic douchebag groupie. Really not that complicated.

 

[trustbutverify]

I am thinking it is probably more needy people getting off on scum tbh.

Maybe it gives them a "project" to think they can fix.

It's the "dangerous adventure" of it. People with mundane lives desperately crave excitement, even if it's just contrived nonsense. It's a lot easier to attach oneself to a hot situation than to actually have to create one of your own.

 

[mumblethrax]

I dunno, the lowkey gothic-frump look is kinda growing on me.

Pretty much talking about the first one, because that's around the point where I noped out. The rest just look like they came from Haute Topic.

 

[Arcade22]

It's hard not to get upset thinking about those kinds of wretches and criminals having horny fans, but I guess it really isn't my concern at the end of the day.

I find it amusing more than anything else. It's like going to the zoo in order to experience dangerous animals... in a completely artificial environment without any real danger.

 

[cullennz]

It's the "dangerous adventure" of it. People with mundane lives desperately crave excitement, even if it's just contrived nonsense. It's a lot easier to attach oneself to a hot situation than to actually have to create one of your own.

It is pretty odd

Apparently even Charles Manson, Peter Sutcliffe and Ted Bundy had their female "Pen friends"

Edited by zooterkin: 

<SNIP>
Edited for rule 12.

 

[trustbutverify]

It is pretty odd

Apparently even Charles Manson, Peter Sutcliffe and Ted Bundy had their female "Pen friends"

Edited by zooterkin: 

<SNIP>
Edited for rule 12.

Have you ever read any of those Harlequin Romance paperbacks? This type of situation isn't really odd at all. People love drama.

 

[cullennz]

I hadn't heard of Harlequin.

I'd heard of Mills and Boon.

Googled it. Quite funny. They have a 1/2 billion dollar turn over!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlequin_Enterprises

That is quite funny, if a bit weird

 

[arthwollipot]

Harlequin is the Mills and Boon of America.

 

[cullennz]

Slightly left field fact.

You could make a fairly good argument that the goddess of female romance writers invented air mail.

Barbara Cartland

Contribution to aviation

Privately, Cartland took an interest in the early gliding movement and in 1931 created and devised a 200-mile (360 km) tow in a glider carrying mail. In 1984, she was awarded the Bishop Wright Air Industry Award for this contribution

 

[Matthew Best]

Probably not a coincidence that Elle chose that particular dressmaker, just to be cheeky.

https://thevampireswife.com/

They don't come cheap, apparently. Some of them run over £2,000.

This is probably common knowledge, but the Vampire's Wife is owned and run by the wife of Nick Cave, the goth singer - hence the name.

 

[Butter!]

This is probably common knowledge, but the Vampire's Wife is owned and run by the wife of Nick Cave, the goth singer - hence the name.

I actually didn't know that, but now I like them even more!

I'm starting to think a lot of you guys might dislike my non-work wardrobe.

 

[ahhell]

She's pretty, the first dress is crazy, the second just looks a little dated with the slightly puffy shoulders.

That being said, this reminds of those women that end up marrying serial killers in prison. Sad story, I'm guessing she doesn't see it how I and probably everyone else does. She probably thinks its romantic rather than just a said tale a douche taking advantage of her.

He's a douchebag and she's a pathetic douchebag groupie. Really not that complicated.

Still, hard to understand if you aren't one of those things, or haven't witness a lot of that sort of thing. I agree, its not that unusual.

Also reminds me of Twilight. I only saw one(mayby two?) of the movies but it could have been a movie about a dangerous stalker but the stalking behavior was played as romance. Seriously, at one point the vampire disables the what's her names care to keep her from meeting the werewolf. Her dad was a cop, WTF man? Arrest that guy. Later she starts hallucinating visions of the vampire and engaging in self destructive behavior when they can't get together. Mental illness as romance seems to be a thing in our culture. Goes back to Romeo and Juliet if you think about it.

 

[trustbutverify]

In April 2017, Shkreli invited Smythe to a talk he was giving to a Princeton University student corporate finance club as fodder for the book. The club sent an SUV to pick them up; a dean shook their hands. Smythe felt a stir when Shkreli mentioned her: “Even if you find an honest reporter—I made friends with one, she’s here right now,” he told the audience. Afterward, Shkreli met with students at a brewpub. “Martin’s mobbed with kids, people talking to him, and he’s really animated and excited,” she remembers. When Shkreli went to the bathroom, Smythe stepped in to entertain the students. “It almost felt like I was a political wife,” she says.

All that was missing was a coupla ugly dresses and and a glossy magazine interview. Too bad about those people who woke up one day and found the drug their child needed to stay alive had just become 5000% more expensive so that a slimy con artist could buy a two million dollar record album and stay out of prison for a few more months. But I guess they aren't the type of characters who fit into an exciting romance story.

 

[Brainster]

Have you ever read any of those Harlequin Romance paperbacks? This type of situation isn't really odd at all. People love drama.

Yeah, the rich guy whom everybody thinks is a meanie but who secretly has a heart of gold that can only be brought out by heroine is a staple of those books.

 

[Butter!]

Yeah, the rich guy whom everybody thinks is a meanie but who secretly has a heart of gold that can only be brought out by heroine is a staple of those books.

Holy ****.

It's 50 Shades of Shkreli.