Netflix seems to have perfected the art of keeping us on the edge of our seats with its documentaries. Netflix Untold is the latest on the streamer, which will feature epic tales from the sports world.
The two hour-long episodes, which are streaming on Netflix, form the first part of the the second volume of Untold.
First episode, The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist, is a foray into the story of American football player Manti Te'o who got caught up in an online relationship, which ended up being a catfish.
Here's everything you need to know about Netflix Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist including where catfisher Naya Tuiasosopo is now.
What is ‘Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist about?
Netflix Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn't Exist follows the true story of American footballer Manti Te'o who got caught in a catfishing incident, which affected his career.
On the surface, Te'o's sporting success was bolstered by media headlines of the strength he showed after the death of his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua.
However, as it later turned out, Lennay did not exist and was simply a hoax created by a person named Naya Tuiasosopo.
Who is Naya Tuiasosopo?
Naya Tuiasosopo, previously known as Ronaiah, came into the spotlight after an article on Deadspin about Manti Te'o's fake dead girlfriend.
Tuiasosopo, who comes from a family of football players, never liked the game despite having decent prospects of making it in the sport.
While exploring her feelings about identifying as a girl, Naya made a fake Facebook profile under the name of Lennay Kekua, using pictures of a girl named Diane O’Meara, who Naya went to school with.
After talking to a few boys, and breaking it off every time they'd ask to meet in person, Naya befriended rising football star Manti Te'o.
Over a couple of years, the friendship between the pair blossomed into a close relationship, though they never met.
Eventually, Naya decided to put an end to the tale of Lennay, by making up a story about a fatal car accident and months-long fight with leukemia, which ended with "Lennay" passing away.
Where is Naya Tuiasosopo now?
Naya Tuiasosopo currently lives in Carson, California and works as an Assistant Store Manager Operations at Lowe’s Home Improvement.
Naya confessed in the Netflix documentary that assuming the identity of Lennay had helped her figure out her sexuality.
She previously told Dr Phil: "You’ve heard of recovering drug addicts? It takes a lot of courage to stand and say that. To recover from homosexuality and this type of thing. Not only that, coming back to your real life, as hard of a task as that is, I’m going to do all that I can to live right."
Since the catfishing incident, Naya who now identifies as a transgender woman has mostly kept away from the spotlight.
As for what happened with Te'o, she said: "Truth of it is, that happened, I grew feelings, I grew emotions that sooner or later I couldn’t control anymore. When I tried to end things I tried every other way to end this I tried this lie and this lie and this lie but nothing would work. He [Te’o] really fell in love with this character. It is what it is."
