As the world waits for the verdict on the trial of Elizabeth Holmes - the disgraced businesswoman behind faux blood-testing start-up Theranos faces nine counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud - a cultlike fascination has grown up around the former tech entrepreneur's personal life.

The latest twist? During her high-stakes legal drama, Holmes, who could end up in prison for 20 years if convicted, managed to find love in William "Billy" Evans - a 29-year-old hospitality heir from California. Sources told Vanity Fair that the couple got married in a secret ceremony in 2019.

So, what do we know about her "husband"?

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Evans, who was raised in San Diego, comes from a prominent family. His grandparents, William and Anne Evans, founded the Evans Hotel Group in 1953, now run and managed by his father, William "Bill" L. Evans. The company has three properties - Bahia Resort Hotel, Catamaran Resort Hotel and Spa and The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Evans also inherited a private museum and events space called Evans Garage that "houses vintage cars dating as far back as the 1880s", according to NPR.

In 2019, the New York Post reported that Evans' family was worried that Holmes had "brainwashed" him. Flash forward to now, and Evans' dad apparently is supportive of Holmes in public. He even presented himself as "concerned citizen" to reporters during her trial, under the fake name of Hanson, lamenting how the press treated Holmes poorly.

He attended MIT and graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics. Evans has also spent time in China at Fudan University, according to his LinkedIn page.

When Evans proposed to Holmes in 2019, he gave her his MIT signet ring instead of a diamond engagement ring, reports the New York Post, citing Evan's former colleague. "He could snap his fingers and have a triple-A diamond engagement ring instantly if he wanted to. But if you give her some extravagant ring, it could end up owned by the feds if she has to give up her material possessions," said the former colleague.

In 2019, the Daily Mail reported that Evans and Holmes were living together in a luxurious US$5,000-per-month flat in San Francisco. However, the lovebirds have now swapped their high rise for an even larger and more expensive home in the San Francisco area, according to CNBC.

The former Theranos CEO is currently living in one of the homes in the posh, US$135 million Green Gables estate in Woodside, California. The 74-acre (30-hectare) property boasts four pools, a tennis court, a flower and vegetable garden and a reservoir. The couple's address was only revealed after Evans received a traffic citation. The storied estate is currently listed for sale.

According to Evans' LinkedIn page, after graduating from MIT he spent time working at LinkedIn as an analyst with the strategy and analytics leadership programme from 2015 to 2017. Afterwards, he worked for Austin Russell's self-driving car company Luminar Technologies, serving as a manager of special projects, until January 2019.

In 2018, Evans was spotted partying with Holmes at Burning Man festival just six days before Theranos employees received an email announcing the company's dissolution, reports Daily Mail.

The couple welcomed their first child, named William Holmes Evans, on July 10. She revealed in a March court filing that she was expecting a child, and asked for a delay to her trial due to the pregnancy, according to CNBC. Her trial ended up beginning in September this year.

Evans met Holmes at a Bay Area party in 2017, and was once described by his colleague as a "playboy" who dated Instagram models, reports the New York Post. However, since their marriage, Evans has been spotted right by Holmes' side during her court trials, appearing as a doting husband with a future yet to be decided.

This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2021 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.

Copyright (c) 2021. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved.