Is Manti Te'o Netflix Doc About More Than Just Catfishing

Is Manti Te'o Netflix Doc About More Than Just Catfishing

Updated on November 11, 2022 17:13 PM by Sally Harbor

Movie Name/ Year of Release - Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, released on August 16, 2022.

Cast

Manti Teo (self)

Ansa Woo (College Student Girl Imagined)

Phil McGraw (Dr. Phil)

Brent Dones (Story Producer)

Rachel Greenwald (Associate producer)

Jacob Fisher (Online Editor)

Directed By – Tony Vainuku, Ryan Duffy 

Genres – Biography, Documentary, Sport

Movie Synopsis – Being born in Hawaiian ecstasy, the American football player Manti Te’o proceeds a simple life wrapped up in three terms: family, faith, and football. The football golden boy never does wrong though an incident occurs, and the boy gets into a trap. The tragedy of increased inspection from his online bond caused a media maelstrom that frightened his legacy and future. The movie features a detailed interview with Manti Te'o and an individual behind the online character named Ranaiah' Naya' Tuiasosopo.

Ratings on OTT – 7.2/10, Got 5787 votes

The new documentary series premiered on Netflix has grasped followers with catfishing dodge that ended the career of an American football player who dreamt of playing the game for the NFL. In a series named "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist", a player Manti To, during his college years, strikes into a relationship with a 22-year-old girl, Lennay Kekua, through the mode of Facebook.

Though, he was bewildered to know that Kekua was a part of a car crash and, later on, died from Leukemia. To the lid off the story, Te’o has been a victim of Catfishing by employing a social media account that is designed to trap another person into a relationship by using a fake identity. Lennay Kekua, the girlfriend, created a social media account on Facebook of Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who later appeared as a trans woman and ended off by Naya Tuiasosopo.

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All about Manti Te'o and his Hoax 

(Image Credits: The Guardian.com)

Manti Teo is a player at Notre Dame at the College level. In 2009, when he connected with the "Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team", he shortly caught the eye of devotees to watch his extraordinary performance in this field eagerly.

Though, he highlights in the news lines in September 2021 by revealing that his girlfriend from Stanford University and grandmother passed away on the same day. When the 22-year-old girl died of Leukemia, Te'o still did not skip any football games and so went to nominate as an applicant for "Heisman Trophy", which is an award allotted to 'the most outstanding player for playing a football game.

In January 2013, Deadspin – a sports outlet, started scrutiny to recognize the girlfriend of Te'o named Lennay, who met on Facebook and even had a conversation on call. After that, journalists Jack Dickey and Timothy Burke stated that Kekua never exited as there are no records of her birth and attendance at Stanford. Though, the photos uploaded on her social media accounts were of someone totally different from the one who never met To.

Also, they said that the individual behind Kekua's social media account was as similar to Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who changed into a woman and, thereby, goes off by Naya Tuiasosopo, who was a class fellow from whom the photographs were shared.

After inspection, it is found that Manti has been a victim of a hoax by a false name Lennay Kekua sucked up herself with Manti. Upon getting to know the scam, the university began scrutiny to help Manti and his family explore the cause and motive of this hoax. The proper authority continues to examine the troubling matter, which is a very cruel and sad deception.

About Manti Teo's Catfish – Ronaiah 'Naya' Tuiasosopo 

A folk named Ronaiah 'Naya' Tuiasosopo, in a series of "Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist", was found as a person of online identity of a girlfriend named Lennay Kekua. On social media accounts, there have been used the photographs of classmate 22-year-old Stanford University Girl named Lennay.  

Tuiasosopo, who has changed after catfishing scam, says in the documentary series that she only wants a part of football with obedience and has the urge to feel her dad happy. While struggling with her identity, Tuiasosopo created a false Facebook profile of Lennay Kekua with befriended as Manti To. The duo entered into a close relationship by becoming friends together. Tuiasosopo made an excuse to speak up and meet over a video call.

"When these dudes want to meet me, I would be as 'Dang'. This was a type of sign of an end", she further added in the documentary. After died of his girlfriend, Lennay, Tuiasosopo went to meet Te'o on the pretext of Lennay's cousin playing a football game. She later revealed in December 2012 that "it was not over". She was still active to suspect Te'o was being catfished.  

Where Is Manti Te’o After Catfishing Scam

Since Manti Te’o got trapped in a fearful scandal, he still lives happily ever after. From then, Te'o was opted by San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL, where he played well for four seasons; thus, he signed a two-year bond with the connection of 'New Orleans Saints. He shortly joined a practice team in 2020 of Chicago Bears, aligning with the squad till January 2021 before he turned into an NFL free agent.

Apart from his football career, he met a real girlfriend named "Jovi Nicole Engbino", who used to be a beauty consultant and a personal trainer to whom Te'o married on August 2020 before the arrival of his first kid in August 2021. For his daughter's birth, he announced via Instagram, "Forever grateful for my wife. Thank you, bringing our little angel girl into the world. Loved you".

About the two-part documentary on Netflix, he took an Instagram to thank his followers for assisting him in narrating his story. He added, "Thank you for your support. You have no clue of what I was for the past 10 years. To my family, I am grateful for lending me in every step coming on my way".

He further added, "Thank you God for teaching me all the lessons and being with me in hard times. Thank you for being great people all through the years and showing me love and support. Thank you all. It was a big thing meant for me".    

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