An insane story that took over social media back in 2013 is now being played out once again in a Netflix documentary. College football superstar Manti Te’o became the center of controversy after it was revealed that he suffered two tragedies: the death of his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua and his grandmother on the same day In 2012, Te’o was reportedly in a relationship with a woman that he met online and later, it was learned that they never met in person, either. That year, Te’o was told that Kekua died from leukemia, however, months later, she would call him to say she was still alive.
The chaos that ensued was unlike any other, and it was discovered that Lennay Kekua didn’t exist and was actually a transwoman named Naya Tuiasosopo who had been catfishing him the entire time.
Jayne Kamin-Oncea / Stringer / Getty Images
Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t exist explores the behind-the-scenes information regarding the scandal that caused Te’o to become the subject of taunting and cyberbullying. He was touted as an inspiration because of his resistance through tragedy, but he became a punching bag for trolls one the truth was discovered.
“My uncle immediately said, ‘I think you’re getting catfished,’” said Te’o. “And that was the first time that somebody ever brought up the term ‘catfish.’ I didn’t know what catfishing was. Even when he explained what it was, I still couldn’t understand what that even entailed.”
Naya said, “I missed the relationship. I missed the conversations. I missed shooting that text and getting something back… Ultimately, a huge part of me just didn’t want to let go.”
Te’o added that he was with the New Orleans Saints when he went to a concert that changed his life.
“Cam Jordan with the Saints took a bunch of us teammates to a Jay-Z concert,” Te’o told CBS Mornings. “And at that concert, Jay-Z opens up with saying these words: ‘You cannot heal what you don’t reveal.’ And it may have been just some random words to everybody, but for me, at that time, it hit me like a ton of bricks.”
It was then that he decided to share his journey publicly. Check it out below.
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