Who Catfished Manti Te’o?

If you’re a football fan and have been following the sport for years, you know the name Manti Te’o. Manti Te’o was a college football standout winning numerous awards as a Notre Dame linebacker. He would eventually get drafted in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft by the San Diego Chargers. Despite the various accolades, his name will forever be synonymous with the catfishing incident that overshadowed his on field accomplishments. In this article, we’ll discuss the incident that preceded his NFL success, who the person was that catfished him and the full story getting revealed in a Netflix documentary.

Manti Te’o Catfish Documentary On Netflix

Last August, Netflix released a documentary called, “Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist”. The documentary. The documentary is a two part documentary that told an in depth story of how Manti Te’o got into a long distance relationship with a fictional woman.

Te’o says that the incident tormented him for years. “Every day was about just trying to figure out how to get rid of this anxiety, this numbness, this tingling. I’m trying to figure out all these ways to reprogram myself.”

Part 1 of the documentary is about Manti’s playing days, becoming a five star recruit from Oahu, and having a role in the revival of Notre Dame’s football program. It delves into the relationship that he developed as he and the catfisher recount the events of how Te’o was tricked through phone calls and messages.

Later, the documentary gets into the wild experience of Te’o having to play football after his grandmother’s passing and his girlfriend’s passing a couple hours after that.

Part 2 delves into Manti’s feelings about the situation at the time and how he felt like he was unsure of himself and could trust people around him. Te’o became aware of the scam before the 2013 National Championship game against Alabama in which his team lost 42-14. Deadspin would pour gas on the fire as they would expose the story where most of the other media outlets said it was a myth.

The ensuing backlash would follow Te’o up until the 2013 NFL draft where it was a huge story. This was a big concern for Te’o because teams don’t want the bad publicity and media circus that would come with a player.

Many teams get scared of gambling on a player with baggage like that because they get worried that the player won’t be able to focus on playing and winning games. It can take a mental toll on a player that distracts them so much that their quality of play gets worse.

Manti Te’o’s draft stock did eventually get impacted as he would fall to the second round and get picked number 38 to the Chargers.

What Happened To Manti Te’o’s Career

The incident left a mental scar on Manti Te’o. The linebacker said that he had lost the confidence that he had when he played for Notre Dame. “When I’m on the football field, I feel like nobody can beat me, and I played free and I played fast and I played physical. And that’s what made me great. Now I go to the NFL, and I’m questioning everything.”

Far from the stud linebacker that he was in college, Te’o managed to string 8 straight seasons of play together in the NFL, playing four seasons for the Chargers, three for the Saints and one for the Bears.

It’s possible that the catfishing incident may have left Te’o psychologically destroyed considering that he was a shell of what he was at Notre Dame. Te’o even sought out therapy, which he claims to have helped him cope with the incident.

Manti Te’o Was Catfished by Lennay Kekua

The person behind this catfishing scam was Lennay Kekua. Lennay Kekua was the fake identity of Naya Tuiasosopo, previously Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who is now a transgender woman. Naya used photos of Diane O’Meara, a marketing executive, without her permission to create this hoax.

Naya is given equal amount of time in the Netflix documentary as she gives her viewpoints on the crazy scam that got out of control. Naya would explain her motivations for her actions in the documentary saying, “I knew what was right and wrong, but I was too far in love with being looked at in this way. Yes, it was completely selfish, but it was what made me happy. It was what I wanted to be a reality.”

Naya’s admission that she loved the way she was looked at falls in line with what is believed to be true of most catfishers. They’re people that are just looking for attention from their victims. That dopamine hit is what fuels them to keep the scam going.

Where Is Manti Te’o Now In 2022?

Manti Te’o hasn’t played a down since the 2019 season. He lives a low key life, devoting most of his time to his family. He now has a wife, Jovi Nicole Engbino. He married her in 2020 and had a daughter named Hiro with her that same year. She’s currently pregnant with their second child.

What Is Manti Te’o Doing Now?

Manti lives a comfortable life from the millions that he made from his pro career. He is now working for Transcend, a telehealth provider that works exclusively with athletes.

Manti Te’o Forgives Naya

Despite what Naya did to him, Te’o forgives her. In doing so, the former linebacker saw that as his way of being able to move on peacefully and put the event in the past where it belongs. When Manti Te’o got catfished, he was young and didn’t know what he was doing. Now he’s a grown man with a family that he loves.

“There are a lot of emotions there, hearing the details. For the first three years, my life was extremely difficult, and I was desperate to find peace. The only thing that I could think of during that time was forgiveness, was to let it go. Once I did, I felt like I then regained the power over my life and that peace over my life.”