Inside the life of Ghislaine Maxwell's secret husband, a once-high-flying tech entrepreneur backed by Eric Schmidt who is now a central figure in one of the country's most high-profile legal cases

When the tabloids discovered Scott Borgerson's connection to Ghislaine Maxwell in summer 2019, he told reporters she was a "former friend." This time around, he'd just rather not talk about her.

"The invasion of my privacy by tabloids has been awful," Borgerson told Business Insider in a text message, a rare on-the-record statement from a man still distrustful that much good can come from talking to the press.

Over the years, Borgerson learned to leverage the benefit of Maxwell's elite social network when it suited him and how to hide it through aliases and fictitious backstories when necessary.

"I am deeply grateful to my family, my friends, my mentors, and the many colleagues and shipmates who have joined me on the journey," Borgerson said in the text. "They know my core principles of integrity and teamwork. If there is a reader looking for an entrepreneur to contribute solving an important problem, please reach out!"

Attention has ramped up on Borgerson again following Maxwell's latest request for bail, which could be ruled upon at a hearing in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York as soon as Monday. Maxwell and her husband proposed posting $22.5 million in collateral on December 14 in an effort to convince the judge that she was not at risk of fleeing the country before her trial.

Borgerson is not listed as Maxwell's husband in the filing. Neither is anyone else. The death threats on social media and the tabloid frenzy generated by the case are so severe that the names of Maxwell's bail cosigners needed to be redacted, her lawyers successfully argued.

In a situation complicating matters further, Maxwell told pretrial services in July that she was "in the process of divorcing her husband," the government revealed on December 18. If she is granted bail, she will live in New York, and not with her spouse.

Business Insider spoke with Borgerson and 15 people close to the couple and reviewed public documents to understand how Borgerson's life and career intersected with Maxwell.