Just be yourself. That’s the corny advice we’ve probably all received at one point when attempting to get some tips on how to navigate the treacherous waters of modern dating, but is it actually the best strategy? Catfishing is a duplicitous epidemic in our chronically online world, and yet for some people it may just lead to unexpected happiness. Such is the case for TikTok user @babycharlotte1, whose curious tale of catfishing gone wrong (or maybe right) must be seen to be believed.
Charlotte first alerted TikTok to the nightmare scenario plucked from a Netflix romcom that she’d gotten herself into when it was already way too late to pull back. “I catfished a guy because I thought he was catfishing me,” she began — which, as TikTok openings go, is right up there with the finest first lines in history. Charlotte explains that, in revenge for his own suspected fibs, she had sent this guy pictures of social media star Sophie Rain.
Her subterfuge might’ve worked too well, however, as Charlotte’s video was recorded from the airport, and her American guy friend had flown all the way to the U.K. to see her in person. “So he’s over there somewhere looking for Sophie Rain, but he’s not going to find her,” says Charlotte, looking very agitated but nothing like Sophie Rain.
“What does one do in this situation???” Charlotte asked in her caption. Girl, sorry, you’re on your own.
Seeing as Charlotte’s video went nuclear on TikTok, it even reached the attention of the real Sophie Rain, who blasted Charlotte’s catfishing and impersonation of her in a stitch. Our identity-stealing heroine didn’t exactly take the rebuttal kindly, though. “OK, so maybe I borrowed your face, and told a guy I looked like you, but it was all my personality,” she argued. “I knew I should’ve used Aishah [Sofey]‘s photos. She would’ve been much cooler about it.”
Believe it or not, there was another twist in the tale still to come. Eventually, Sophie — I mean, Charlotte — bit the bullet and decided to meet her amorous American… and it went better than she could’ve hoped for. Evidently, he was A-OK with her not looking exactly (i.e. anything) like she had claimed as Charlotte offered a further update from the deck of his yacht. Yes, his yacht. It turns out the guy is super rich. “Sorry, Sophie Rain, you missed out,” Charlotte quipped, as she prepared to live the high life on the high seas.
A 2023 study found that 27% of online daters had been catfished within the past 12 months alone. “27%?” you might be thinking, “it could be worse.” It should be noted, however, that 366 million used online dating in 2022, so that means roughly 99 million people were catfished over that period. Don’t add to that number, folks, even if Charlotte’s method might seem tempting as she TikToks from her new boyfriend’s yacht. A catfish ends up in the sea. What are the odds?
