April 2, 2013. Back on January 24, 2013, Manti Te’o a Linebacker for the University of Notre Dame and candidate for the Heisman trophy, told Katy Couric that he was the victim of a hoax. In an appearance on her daytime talk show, he stated that he was manipulated into believing that a girl that he met on facebook and fell in love with, was Polynesian and Samoan like him. For two years he shared a pen and phone relationship with what he thought was a beautiful dark haired girl named Lennay Kekua. She was real and he had pictures that she had sent to him to prove it. They started out as friends during his freshman year, but things got serious when he became a junior. They talked on the phone for hours. Too bad Lennay Kekua did not exist. It was all a terrible lie.
A guy name Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was behind it all. He is the one that established a relationship with Manti for the last two years. But how could this be? Not only did Manti have pictures of Lennay, but he talked to her on the phone. They became even closer when she told him that her father died, and then later said that she was diagnosed with Leukemia, which he mentioned in an interview with ESPN on June of 2012. Who and where is that girl?
No one knows who or where that girl is. But the girl in the pictures for sure is not Lennay Kekua. It’s a girl named Diane O’Meara. In an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Diane said that she knew nothing of this mess until two days before the story broke publicly. That’s when Ronaiah Tuiasosop a former classmate of Diane O’Meara called her to confess that he had been stalking her facebook page and downloading her pictures, so that she could be the face of a fake identity that he created to deceive Manti Te’o. Wait there is more.
In April 2012 the fake Lennay’s brother called Manti to say that Lennay had been in a car accident. However, months later she supposedly recovered and Lennay and Manti’s romance continued.
The stuff hit the fan on September 12, 2012 when Manti Te’o’s grandmother died. Hours later the fake Lennay’s brother called Manti extremely upset, shouting that Lennay had died of leukemia. Of course Manti was distraught over the two losses. He later lost it in the locker room, knocking and kicking over things. He was inconsolable. Unfortunately Manti’s coaches talked about his drama during a news conference, and the story went viral. In December Manti gets a text message along with photo stating that Lennay was in fact still alive.
Katie asked Manti why he continued to lie to the press about Lennay dying even though he knew she supposedly did not die. Manti told Katy whom he shares a publicist with, that he found out that he had been duped a couple of days before the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. He said that when questioned by the press regarding his loss, he continued to perpetuate the story by dedicating the season to his dead girlfriend and grandmother, because he was too embarrassed to tell the truth, and was “overwhelmed” and angry, and didn’t know what else to do.
What a story. This drama happens all too frequently. People creating fake profiles and putting them on social media. Today people meet on twitter, facebook and various dating sights. It’s easy to see how someone could be fooled. And what’s up with the guy Ronaiah who made up this craziness. Is he gay? Does or did he have intimate feelings for Manti? Did he come up with this elaborate scheme to trick Manti into falling for him later to let himself be known, hoping Manti would be so drawn to him that it would not matter that he was a man and not a women? Did he hope to ultimately gain something else from Manti? Maybe money? Drama. That’s another story for sure. By the way, Manti did confirm to Katie that he is not gay.
Men definitely can loose their head over a beautiful women, even if it’s a picture. That’s why books like King, XXL, Playboy and Hustler are so popular. But some question how this social media romance could go on so long without Manti demanding to meet this girl in person?
According to Manti, he did attempt to meet with her, but something always got in the way. Really Manti? For two years? Even when she was supposedly in the hospital in Los Angeles dying of leukemia where he was at the same time, he did not visit her. He said that it was because he was in between flights and ran out of time. He did not fit into his schedule time to visit his terminally ill girlfriend, someone he previously said was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen.
Maybe he was just too busy being a star college athlete. Plenty of perks go along with that, including many other beautiful healthy women. I guess he wasn’t so in love with Lennay after all. I mean he is in his early twenties and wisdom is definitely not a virtue at that age. But being gullible and naïve can be used to describe most twenty something year olds. Most of us have done stupid things and made bad decisions when we were that young.
Some question whether or not Manti may have been a part of the hoax himself. I don’t see how that would benefit him. Although the story made him a household name, it surely would not help him win the Heisman Trophy or land him a spot on a professional football team. Me thinks that the world should go back to a simplier time when people socialized not by social media or text messages, but met up and interacted face to face.
A guy name Ronaiah Tuiasosopo was behind it all. He is the one that established a relationship with Manti for the last two years. But how could this be? Not only did Manti have pictures of Lennay, but he talked to her on the phone. They became even closer when she told him that her father died, and then later said that she was diagnosed with Leukemia, which he mentioned in an interview with ESPN on June of 2012. Who and where is that girl?
No one knows who or where that girl is. But the girl in the pictures for sure is not Lennay Kekua. It’s a girl named Diane O’Meara. In an interview on CNN with Anderson Cooper, Diane said that she knew nothing of this mess until two days before the story broke publicly. That’s when Ronaiah Tuiasosop a former classmate of Diane O’Meara called her to confess that he had been stalking her facebook page and downloading her pictures, so that she could be the face of a fake identity that he created to deceive Manti Te’o. Wait there is more.
In April 2012 the fake Lennay’s brother called Manti to say that Lennay had been in a car accident. However, months later she supposedly recovered and Lennay and Manti’s romance continued.
The stuff hit the fan on September 12, 2012 when Manti Te’o’s grandmother died. Hours later the fake Lennay’s brother called Manti extremely upset, shouting that Lennay had died of leukemia. Of course Manti was distraught over the two losses. He later lost it in the locker room, knocking and kicking over things. He was inconsolable. Unfortunately Manti’s coaches talked about his drama during a news conference, and the story went viral. In December Manti gets a text message along with photo stating that Lennay was in fact still alive.
Katie asked Manti why he continued to lie to the press about Lennay dying even though he knew she supposedly did not die. Manti told Katy whom he shares a publicist with, that he found out that he had been duped a couple of days before the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. He said that when questioned by the press regarding his loss, he continued to perpetuate the story by dedicating the season to his dead girlfriend and grandmother, because he was too embarrassed to tell the truth, and was “overwhelmed” and angry, and didn’t know what else to do.
What a story. This drama happens all too frequently. People creating fake profiles and putting them on social media. Today people meet on twitter, facebook and various dating sights. It’s easy to see how someone could be fooled. And what’s up with the guy Ronaiah who made up this craziness. Is he gay? Does or did he have intimate feelings for Manti? Did he come up with this elaborate scheme to trick Manti into falling for him later to let himself be known, hoping Manti would be so drawn to him that it would not matter that he was a man and not a women? Did he hope to ultimately gain something else from Manti? Maybe money? Drama. That’s another story for sure. By the way, Manti did confirm to Katie that he is not gay.
Men definitely can loose their head over a beautiful women, even if it’s a picture. That’s why books like King, XXL, Playboy and Hustler are so popular. But some question how this social media romance could go on so long without Manti demanding to meet this girl in person?
According to Manti, he did attempt to meet with her, but something always got in the way. Really Manti? For two years? Even when she was supposedly in the hospital in Los Angeles dying of leukemia where he was at the same time, he did not visit her. He said that it was because he was in between flights and ran out of time. He did not fit into his schedule time to visit his terminally ill girlfriend, someone he previously said was the most beautiful girl that he had ever seen.
Maybe he was just too busy being a star college athlete. Plenty of perks go along with that, including many other beautiful healthy women. I guess he wasn’t so in love with Lennay after all. I mean he is in his early twenties and wisdom is definitely not a virtue at that age. But being gullible and naïve can be used to describe most twenty something year olds. Most of us have done stupid things and made bad decisions when we were that young.
Some question whether or not Manti may have been a part of the hoax himself. I don’t see how that would benefit him. Although the story made him a household name, it surely would not help him win the Heisman Trophy or land him a spot on a professional football team. Me thinks that the world should go back to a simplier time when people socialized not by social media or text messages, but met up and interacted face to face.
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