Billy Evans, in first interview, tells his side of "You Can See Everything," its portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes

Billy Evans may be the most-talked-about person in the most-talked-about film of the year, the documentary "You Can See Everything." He sat down with "CBS Sunday Morning" for his first-ever TV interview.

Why now? "You gotta learn really painful lessons sometimes in life," he said. "And with Elizabeth going through everything she did in the press, the lesson that was ingrained in us is, 'You can't lose your voice.'"

"You Can See Everything" is a film by Lance Oppenheim and Nathan Fielder, who shot to fame as an absurdist comedian, and who (along with cameras) moved in with Evans and his partner Elizabeth Holmes in the weeks before the disgraced Theranos founder reported to prison in 2023.

Evans, a 34-year-old MIT grad who'd also worked in high-tech, emerges as a shape-shifting central character. Asked if he is the person we saw in the film, or something else, Evans said, "I'm deeply passionate about my family and about the work that I do. But no, I am not some controlling monster who's leveraging his wife for insert-whatever-anybody-is-saying. No, I am not those things."

It's easy to understand why the genre-bending film has become a cultural phenomenon … harder to understand why Evans agreed to do it. 

"I think sometimes I take too big of risks," he said. Such as? "Inviting Nathan Fielder into your home for 34 days and trusting somebody to have the right to portray you in any way, shape or form that they so choose."

In the film, Evans is portrayed as a villain – controlling and manipulative. Yet, Evans doesn't seem angry about that: "It's super-painful, but me being angry about it doesn't help change it. Look, I'm going to live my life with integrity and with who I am, and I hope people can see that over time. But if they don't, what I care about is the people that I know, people that love me."

In fact, of the documentary that has gotten rave reviews, Evans says, "I love the film," despite the fact that he is made out to be a villain. "I would have preferred for that not to be the case, but it's entertainment, you know, and I didn't get to control that edit."

His goal, he said, was "to have people see Elizabeth. And when I watch that movie, I see the person that I love in exactly who she is." 

In 2014 Forbes Magazine crowned Holmes the youngest self-made female billionaire. By 2017, the year she and Evans met, she was under investigation for defrauding investors for a diagnostic machine that she falsely claimed could test for hundreds of diseases with a single drop of blood.

Evans says when they first met, he did not know who she was. "I had been at her office earlier that week," he said. "I had, like, seen her the same week. But no, really, like, the first time I met her, I did not know."

"You Can See Everything" leaves us questioning what the truth is. There are also moments that are cringe-worthy, as when Evans is filmed in the shower completely naked. [You really can see everything.]

"I did not give consent to do that," said Evans. "Now, did I know they were filming me in the shower? Yes. But we would film 16 hours a day. Like, all sorts of things were filmed with assurances made. I was just as surprised as the rest of the country to have my whole body on camera for the world to see, and it's been an awkward experience in having, like, your kids' teachers see that. It's really uncomfortable."

Evans said there were "inappropriate" and "awkward" things that happened every single day, as well as requests to film things that, he said, "are not appropriate for television. All sorts of things that the details I'd rather spare the audience."

The film's production company, A24, said, "Everything that was filmed was filmed with their consent."  

Some who see the film leave convinced the co-director, Nathan Fielder, had feelings for Holmes. "I think that there are bits that are played up to criticize his own bias," said Evans. "This is a film about, what can you trust? And at the end nothing is clear."

Evans says he has not spoken to Fielder since he's seen the film. "I think they're probably worried I'm gonna sue 'em," he said, adding he has no intention to do so. "Because maybe I'm a different person than most people think I am."

Evans lives with their two young children in Texas close to Holmes' prison, and carries a gun 24/7, he says, to keep his family safe. "We have threats of violence against us daily," he said. "I've got two kids. Threats of violence daily. And I would never forgive myself for having the tools, the skills, and the ability to protect my family and not doing it.

"I will give you an example: The other day, I was driving my kids to school. And a car came up behind us really, really quickly. And we stopped at the light. And the guy starts screaming next to me. And this isn't just road rage, okay? And his window is down. And he is screaming the most vile things you have ever heard about: 'I know where you live. I know who you are. I know where your kids sleep, and the things that I will do to you.' And it was terrifying."

Even given the fallout from the movie, he says he would do it all again: "With the same people, making the same film again, with everything that I know right now? 100%. Because I would also have a better understanding of what I was walking into." 

Elizabeth Holmes could transfer to a halfway house next summer. Until then, Evans and their children visit her every week behind bars.

Having his children see their mother in prison, Evens said, has become "strangely normal. Like, I hate it. I absolutely hate that my daughter's first steps were in federal prison. I hate that. … But it doesn't mean that we can't find joy as we experience this. And our job, to them, is not to talk about how much it hurts and how painful it is, but to find the joy in seeing how many acorns we can collect in the prison yard and fit in a water bottle. It's finding, you know, the small, little games that we can play to make each time we go to the same place, every weekend, feel like you're going to Disneyland."

Evans said he used to count the days she was in prison, but that became too painful. "It's been since May 30th of 2023," he said. "I miss her so much. You know, I talked to her right before I came in here. And I told her, I said, 'I'm kinda nervous.' And she said, 'Just be zen. Enjoy it. Embody love. And I'll talk to you, when you're done.'"

To watch a trailer for "You Can See Everything" click on the video player below:

Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Carol Ross. 

For more info:

• "You Can See Everything" (A24) is now playing in theaters