If you are a fan of Netflix's big true-crime hits such as The Tinder Swindler or MTV's Catfish, you will not want to miss the latest installment of the much-loved documentary series, UNTOLD.
Titled UNTOLD: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, the two-part series explores the real-life catfishing story of Manti Te'o, a Samoan-Hawaiian football linebacker from Laie, Hawaii.
In September 2012, Te'o was hit with the heartbreaking news his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, and his grandmother had both died from cancer, on the same day.
However, in January 2013, an investigation by sports blog Deadspin alleged Kekua had never existed in the first place.
Is Lennay Kekua a real person? Newsweek has everything you need to know.
No, technically Lennay Kekua is not a real person.
Kekua was a fake online identity created by Naya Tuiasosopo, previously known as Ronaiah, as explained in the Netflix documentary, UNTOLD: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist. Tuiasosopo now identifies as a transgender woman and uses she/her pronouns.
Speaking in Untold, Tuiasosopo explained she had been trying to figure out her own sexual identity, which led her to create the fake account of Kekua, building relationships only online.
She shared: "The Lennay profile was not necessarily a way out but a way to something else. At that time, I knew for sure there was something inside of me that just wanted to scream out and be like, 'Why am I different?' There were a couple of encounters online where it was like, 'This guy's cute. Let's see where this goes.' I knew what was right and wrong, but I was too far in love with being looked at in this way. It was completely selfish, but it was what made me happy. It was what I wanted to be a reality."
Tuiasosopo explained she and Te'o bonded over both being Samoan, their faith and their connections to football. Te'o played at the NFL level and Tuiasosopo's father played at USC, her uncle played for the Rams and her cousin played for the Raiders, details The Guardian.
Speaking in UNTOLD, Tuiasosopo reflected: "I just wanted to play football out of obedience, and I wanted to make my dad happy. But I totally felt this heaviness of fear. I didn't have that courage to just be like, you know what, this is who I am. I truly believed in my heart, being a natural-born male, I could never be who I wanted. That was when I had decided that I would be able to have that experience in the life of a female, even if it were fake."
In September 2012, in an attempt to end their online relationship, Tuiasosopo faked Kekua's death. Te'o was under the belief that Kekua had died from leukemia after a lengthy battle in the hospital. He recalls in UNTOLD, falling asleep to the sound of her breathing on the phone every night as she awaited a bone-marrow transplant.
The sporting world was fascinated and inspired by Te'o's success in football despite the devastating loss of his girlfriend and grandmother. However, doubt began to be cast by sports media outlets after Te'o's sporting career began to flourish, particularly after he was named as one of the three finalists for the Heisman Trophy, an award given to the most outstanding player of college football.
Things took an interesting turn in December 2012 when Te'o received a phone call from Kekua, who claimed to still be alive. He even received a photo from Kekua as proof.
However, it soon transpired the pictures used on Kekua's profile belonged to Diane O'Meara, who is a real person. As the Cinemaholic reports, O'Meara was unaware her images were being used by Tuiasosopo.
O'Meara is a former high school classmate of Tuiasosopo and had no connection to Te'o whatsoever.
After the scandal broke, Tuiasosopo returned to American Samoa.
Te'o continued to play football and today is a free agent. He married his long-term girlfriend, Jovi Nicole Engbino in August 2020. Together, they welcomed their daughter Hiro into the world on August 12, 2021.
UNTOLD: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist is streaming on Netflix now.
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