";s:4:"text";s:1739:" Manti Te'o's Girlfriend Hoax was a faked relationship between Notre Dame football player Manti Malietau Louis Te'o and a nonexistent woman named Lennay Kekua. It was the kind of story that transcended sports, the kind that made it to morning talk shows and elderly relatives. fooled. Updated Apr. Nev Schulman on Online Dating, Cyber Bullying, and The Manti Te'o Controversy The creator of MTV's hit show Catfish talks about how to stay safe—and be yourself—on the web. Did you hear about the football star from Notre Dame whose girlfriend and grandmother died within hours of each other? An Oral History of the Manti Te'o Catfish Story: Part 2 New, 7 comments Part two of our look back on this strange saga deals with the immediate aftermath on the evening of January 16, 2013. Manti Te'o's Girlfriend Was Hoax. 'Catfish' Creators Reel at Manti Te'o Hoax (ABC News) More Manti Te'o has been "Catfished," it has been said by many -- duped into falling for a fake online girlfriend. By Casey Lewi s For a brief moment earlier this year, MTV’s Catfish: The TV Show was culturally relevant. He fooled us all. 21, 2017 1:42PM ET / Published Jan. 16, 2013 5:25PM ET Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images. Deadspin’s story about Manti Te’o’s fake girlfriend posed questions, and by chance MTV happened to be sitting on the answer: He had been catfished. Notre Dame has said Manti Te’o was the victim of a kind of hoax known as catfishing, which is the basis of a documentary film and an MTV show.