Netflix Untold is back for a second series and the first episode explores the story of Manti Te’o and the story of the girlfriend who didn’t exist.
*WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD*
Catfishing as a concept has been in the mainstream for over ten years now. Unfortunately, it appears there are still people who fall victim to online phishing today.
The brand new episode of Netflix Untold looks at exactly this issue. It explores the story of college footballer Manti Te’o and his girlfriend who didn’t exist.
Is the Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist based on a true story?
While everyone who was involved in the latest episode of Netflix Untold may wish it wasn’t, the story of the girlfriend who didn’t exist is completely real and tells the tale of a true story.
From the official Netflix trailer, we learn the new documentary focuses on Manti Te’o, a Hawaii-born American footballer. His world turns up down when he learns that his girlfriend and his grandmother pass away on the same evening.
As Te’o learned of the tragic news, he dedicated his upcoming football season to the late pair that had both meant so much to him.
Where the story takes an interesting turn, however, is when Te’o learns that his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, was never actually really in the first place. He had been catfished.
Te’o tells the cameras that it was his uncle who first pointed out that his girlfriend wasn’t who he thought she was. That’s when things began to take a dark turn for the young footballer.
Lennay Kekua’s real identity
Also revealed to us in the trailer is the actual identity behind the fake persona of Kekua. We learn Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who goes by the nickname of Naya, is the Catfish.
Naya reveals what her thought process was when setting up the account as Kekua. She admits that she wasn’t brave enough to reveal her true self to Te’o.
The clip also shows a voicemail from who Te’o believed to be Kekua, where a voice can be heard telling Te’o that she “loves him so much”.
As Naya admits that she didn’t expect the story to gain the worldwide attention that it did, the trailer briefly shows us a glimpse into the media circus that surrounded the girlfriend who didn’t exist story and alludes to the fact that Te’o may not have been completely transparent either, (though that part remains to be seen).
When you can watch Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist
Thankfully, if you can’t wait much longer to hear the full story behind Te’o and Kekua, you don’t have long to wait.
Netflix Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist, is out tomorrow, Tuesday August 16th.
As per Netflix Life, the episode will be available at 8 am for UK viewers, and 12 am PT / 3 am ET for those in the US.
The new episode will join the five 2021 Netflix Untold episodes which are currently on the streaming site.
In other news, Netflix Untold: The Girlfriend Who Never Existed – Is it true?