College star’s girlfriend and grandma die on the same day, and he becomes a national hero. Then the truth came out

In September 2012, Manti Te’o stood in front of a crowd at a Notre Dame football game and told them terrible news. The star linebacker had lost both his grandmother and his girlfriend on the same day. His girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, had died from leukemia while his grandmother also passed away. The sad story touched hearts all over America as Te’o dedicated his season to their memory.

The story pushed Te’o to new heights. Notre Dame finished the season without losing a single game, and Te’o became a Heisman Trophy finalist. He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated and everyone expected him to be picked in the first round of the 2013 NFL draft. The whole country supported the young athlete who had turned personal loss into success on the field.

But in January 2013, everything fell apart when the sports website Deadspin published a report showing that Lennay Kekua never existed. Te’o’s girlfriend was fake, made up by someone named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Te’o had never met Kekua in real life. Their whole relationship happened through Facebook messages, texts, and phone calls. The news changed Te’o from being seen as a hero into what became a global joke as people asked if he was stupid or if he was part of the lie.

How the fake girlfriend story ruined his career and life

The media went after him hard. Saturday Night Live made fun of him in comedy sketches. Sports writers asked if Te’o had helped plan the hoax for attention. Many people wondered about his sexuality, with one sports journalist saying on TV that teams wanted to know if Te’o was gay. Notre Dame hired private investigators who said Te’o was a victim, but the damage was already done.

Tuiasosopo, who now lives as a transgender woman and goes by Naya, admitted to creating the fake Kekua person on the Dr. Phil show in 2013. She said she had fallen in love with Te’o and used the fake identity to figure out her own gender identity. Like other episodes of MTV’s popular show about online lies, the case showed how catfishing can ruin lives. Tuiasosopo moved to American Samoa after the scandal and later transitioned, finding support in the local LGBTQ community.

The scandal destroyed Te’o’s NFL chances. Instead of being picked in the first round, he dropped to the 38th pick in the second round. The San Diego Chargers picked him. The money lost was huge, with guesses saying he lost at least $8 million in possible earnings. Te’o played eight seasons in the NFL before his last game in 2019.

In 2022, the story became one of Netflix’s most watched documentary series, called Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. Te’o said he played his first three NFL seasons with his whole body feeling numb from worry, very different from his confident college days. Today, Te’o is married with children and works as an NFL Network analyst. He has found peace after years of therapy and public shame.