January 19, 2013
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Imaginary Girlfriend Drama
Manti Te’o, star linebacker for Notre Dame, fell in love with a beautiful Hawaiian woman named Lennay Kekua. He met her at Stanford and was so taken in by her they continued a long distance relationship. They talked everyday and their relationship grew into something serious. They met each other’s families and Te’o would talk to them and text as much as his own family.
Unfortunately, Kekua was diagnosed with Leukemia. Te’o spent even more time on the phone with her, being supportive.
“I talked to my girlfriend every single day,” Te’o told Themel. “I slept on the phone with her every single day. When she was going through chemo, she would have all these pains and the doctors were saying they were trying to give her medicine to make her sleep. She still couldn’t sleep. She would say, ‘Just call my boyfriend and have him on the phone with me, and I can sleep.’ I slept on the phone with her every single night.”
Te’o girlfriend died right before the season started. He played his heart out for Notre Dame all year long, grieving the girl he loved in Hawaii. He carried those stories through the season, gaining national attention alongside Notre Dame’s undefeated season. Unfortunately, Lennay isn’t real, and never was.
Now, I don’t know if this was an elaborate hoax as he claims or not. He claims it was an elaborate, multi-character prank that went on for years on him. Part of me wants to believe that, but some things just point the other direction. He never went to see her in the hospital. He never attended a funeral. He lied to everybody, stating they had actually met in person.
The whole scandal makes me grateful for Britt, (Flight of the Conchords). He openly addresses the issues faced with having an imaginary wife and children, such as rogue unicorns.
What do you think? Imaginary girlfriend or elaborate hoax on an innocent victim?
Comments (52)
I am sure Lennay was really a short fat guy with pimples. He is still smirking about it.
@we_deny_everything - If so, he can move out of his parent’s basement and make a living as a great actor with a really long attention span!
He got online, met a girl online, fell for a girl online, confirmed her existence by talking on the phone, committed to an online relationship, then found out she wasn’t real. It really isn’t that hard in this Instant Message and Social Network age. I see all the vitriol being thrown his way by old fogies who are older than 40 and think to myself, “You don’t know the way things are anymore. There is an entire MTV show called Catfish dedicated to this phenomena.”
I have no clue. I don’t know who any of these people are.
@Shadowrunner81 - I get that, I understand how most of it could happen. This is what I don’t understand – who would carry on a multi year, complicated prank on somebody before they were even newsworthy? Apparently this has been going on for years. Who has that kind of commitment? Memory?
Also, why didn’t he make an effort to go see her as she was dying?
@C_L_O_G - Haha, it’s all just gossip anyway. It doesn’t really matter who the people are
I saw some reporting on this. I’m reserving judgment. I wonder if we’ll ever find out the truth on this one. One investigative reporter said it’s very possible Te’o, being a young guy could have been too embarrassed to admit he’d been scammed and after he found out he kept up the charade to family and friends. That’s just one possibility.
Xanga had its troll, a balding middle aged white male operating under several aliases but primarily posing as a female Asian model. He had everyone fooled for years until a couple of Xangans did some investigating.
i’m glad to know what happened. my usual news source (facebook) wasn’t helpful this time.
people are certainly something.
@promisesunshine - Today’s episode of Scandalous News is brought to you by BoulderChristina.
@BoulderChristina - always providing xanga with something to think about.
@TheSutraDude - I agree it’s best to with hold judgment for now. I think this chapped my ass because my sister dated a man, in real life, who told her he had cancer and was dying. They had a whirlwind courtship and ran down to the Justice of the Peace – three weeks later she was annulling the wedding because he was a con artist. For some reason, things like this just eat me alive. And, of course, if it turns out he is the one that was truly duped, I will feel terrible for him, and for judging him. Until then, I am judging. Am I ever judging!
Speaking of Curtis, I haven’t seen him lately. Is he still around?
@BoulderChristina - Oh I understand and what happened to your sister is terrible. There are horrible people in this world.
The questions you brought up are questions I also have. I would like to truly find out what happened in Te’o's case but then again if he didn’t play football for Notre Dame we’d never have heard about it and I’m not even into college football.
I haven’t seen him around for a while on any of his aliases with the exception of one I still suspect might be him.
And yes he did say they met each other’s families. That makes it all the weirder because if your family never met someone how could you claim they did? I mean, his family has to know they never met her. These are the moments when I hate the internet.
You know, I have experienced a similar situation. She was a she, she ended up being a real person, just not the one she portrayed. It will be easy for those to say he was stupid, he was a fool, he was in on it. All I know, is sometimes people get drawn in to situations, those situations get way out of control, and no one wins.
The reason this happens is because we are looking for something that is missing. We are trying to fill a void. And so, we too get drawn in to the whole charade. So you see, I, for one, have not walked a mile in Manti’s cleats. My situation was similar yet different. And I’m not the one to judge him. Nope, my slate isn’t clean, and that’s not what I do.
@hombre_de_la_mancha - Oh damnit Carlos! There you go making sense and trying to melt the ice around my heart!
I understand how easy it could be to be duped, I really do. I just can’t shake the holes of his story off, and it makes me angry to think he would make something like this up to cover up something else. Homosexuality? Not wanting to date? Whatever.Now you’ve gone and pointed out my weakness. I can’t ignore that you are right, I am being quick to judge. I am angry at the thought of it. Now I am going to have to soften my heart again and wait and see what happens.None of us are clean.
@TheSutraDude - Me too!
@BoulderChristina - He could be lying threw his teeth. I don’t know. Perhaps I;m just being naive, again?
Seeing how I am a child of the 1970′s, when this “news story” broke, this song popped into my head Imaginary Lover from ARS. The link from youtube wasn’t working. I was listening to the press confrence at work and still can’t figure out who to believe…
I don’t understand it at all. Even if he did make it all up, why? I read some places that he only knew her online, but in this age, even online, you can see somebody. Webcams, Skype. So if she wasn’t real, it’s kind of impossible for me to believe he wasn’t involved. But I still don’t get why. I’ve only heard bits and pieces of this, so thanks for explaining it all. And I agree, if he said he met her in person, then for sure he was involved. Strange.
@BoulderChristina - Then there’s Lance Armstrong. That guy is sounding like a real dirt bag.
@BoulderChristina - Those are answers only the hoaxer and Te’o would know. Tough answers that we may never hear the answeres to. :-/
theres nothing wrong with an online relationship as long as you can really see the person via skype, or yahoo messenger.
I really don’t know what to say wow just sounds like a mess to me
I just don’t see the point of fooling everyone like that. I mean, other than to make people root for him and his team, but even that seems a little silly, especially for a college football player. Whether it was intentional on his part or someone messing with his brain, it’s a bizarre story.
Reminds me of an episode of House I watched recently. A guy would go out to places with his neighbor, but claim that he couldn’t date her because he had a girlfriend, but she never saw the girlfriend, and the girl never seemed to want to do anything with him. Somewhat suspicious, the doctors went to his apartment to check for the usual toxins to his unusual illness (a standard procedure on House) and found his girlfriend lying in the bed. She was a custom-made sex doll. The patient later explained that he hadn’t had any luck with dating real women and was tired of having his heart broken, and so this was his solution. He had been so damaged by heartbreak that he couldn’t bear to be with a real person.
Anyway, that makes me wonder if the Hawaiian woman is really a sex doll.
he did an interview with ESPN on Friday night and I’m believing him in that he was duped. I don’t fully believe him I guess but it’s at 99%.
i never met the mister in real life
@Zoz36 - I may have been wrong in my initial anger at the guy, it sounds like he may be telling the truth about being duped?
@EmilyandAtticus - I don’t get it either. Now my opinion is swaying the other way, that he really did get duped. In that case, why didn’t he Skype or anything? My husband says, “He’s a Linebacker, he had probably never heard of Skype.” My husband is a judgmental nerd, though.
@xxMissforbiddenfruitxx - I can see how it can happen, but I can’t imagine after that many years never visiting, never skyping, nothing.
@BoulderChristina - Really? If he did get duped, that makes me feel sorry for him.
Still puzzled by the whole thing though! Thanks for that, I’ve read more about the story on here than I got from other places.
@TheSutraDude - That story makes me sick to my stomach. I wonder if he has any real integrity, for anything.
@EmilyandAtticus - I’m embarrassed to admit how closely I am following this story
@hombre_de_la_mancha - This is an awesome comment! I’m sorry it happened to you too.
@BoulderChristina - Don’t be I’m totally curious about it too!
@SisterMae - I know, right? I don’t know what it is about this stupid story that drew me in so much, but I am all over. (And a little embarrassed that I am feeding the media gossip machine!)
@leaflesstree - OMG have you ever seen Lars and The Real Girl?? That sounds just like that! The guy practices having a relationship with a sex doll (sans sex) – it’s sad and funny at the same time!
@godfatherofgreenbay - I am starting to lean that way, too. I don’t understand the why and I don’t know why he didn’t utilize the internet tools or go visit his DYING GIRLFRIEND, but if anyone sounds genuine, he does. So, my harsh judgment has abated. And we all know that my judgment is what counts!
Honestly, I think this is a story none of us should know. Whatever is the truth here… the rest of America doesn’t need to know. He’s just a football player and none of this has anything to do with him playing football. Plus, it is a confusing story. lol
@EmilyandAtticus - I thought we were already friends? Wow, I am sorry I didn’t send a request sooner.
@TiredSoVeryTired - Knowing you are right, I think the reason it’s so intriguing to me is because if he’s right, and he was duped, there are some very evil and dedicated con artists out there. If he was the duper and not the dupee, the national support he received going through this grieving makes people more jaded and less likely to be compassionate next time. And, for whatever reason, I am nosy
You are right though – this is none of our business regardless of what happened. Like a train wreck though – I can’t. turn. my. eyes. away.
@BoulderChristina - I thought so too. I subscribe to a lot of people before I send invites, and probably thought I already had sent you one. Thanks for fixing it! <3
@BoulderChristina - It probably never should have been a story in the first place… the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Because he spoke up he got sympathy, yet somewhere in collegiate sports someone really did lose a loved one and received no national support because they kept it to themself. Ever know someone who announces everything to the world and suspect their motivation is just to get attention? At the very lesst, I feel that here. What we should do as a nation is turn to the people we know in real life and give them our support… not someone we don’t know just cuz he plays a collegiate sport.
@BoulderChristina – haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard of it and it wouldn’t surprise me if that’s where the writers got the idea. They never said if this guy was having sex with the doll or not but in the last scene he is watching TV with her and puts his hand on her leg, and when the doctors find her she is in bed. So they were sleeping together anyway.
We all need an imaginary friend to keep us company now and then. I think it sucks though if they go and die on us.
I don’t know what to make of this story. I guess it just goes to show, what a diverse world we live in. I really can’t even imagine it all.
Hah! Always the sportler, always. Not sure what is wrong with them … most of them …
Tiger Woods gone mad, Armstrong gone giddy-giddy … and now this? Imaginary???
My answer is – they are all UNDER DRUGS and now delusional … Oh, dear Lord …
@BoulderChristina - What I can’t figure out is WHY??? What was the reason for it. If it ain’t for money, then you have some very sick/sad/demented people out there with way too much time on their hands. But I reserve my anger for Lance Armstrong. He lied/cheated in the public and now he wants forgiveness???
@BoulderChristina - you know, I tried visiting 3 times, before I finally met her and found out the truth. Needless to say, it was a very expensive trip (not just monetary).
@BoulderChristina - hahaha. agreew with that its very unrealistic to get involved with an imaginary person… perhaps, this person needs love and affection and this person is just making a way to fulfill his needs.
I think a little bit of fraud is good for people.
Furthermore, I think all of us have learned a meaningful lesson at a minor celebrity’s expense, and how often does that happen?
Dont know if we will ever know… but sounds like he was “catfished” and might have been feeling a bit red in the face… ^..^
@SheTigerCat - Yeah, it would suck bad enough for that to happen without the entire nation knowing about it.
<3 flight of the conchords