Woman in Te'o fake girlfriend photo speaks out
NEW YORK (AP) - The woman whose photo was used as the "face" of the Twitter account of Manti Te'o's supposed girlfriend says the man allegedly behind the hoax confessed and apologized to her.
Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating a fake woman called Lennay Kekua. Te'o asserts he was tricked into an online romance with Kekua and, until last week, did not understand he was being hoaxed.
O'Meara went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they're not close. He called to apologize Jan. 16, the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.
"I don't think there's anything he could say to me that would fix this," said O'Meara, a 23-year-old marketing executive in Los Angeles.
O'Meara said she had never had any contact with Te'o, and that for five years, Tuiasosopo "has literally been stalking my Facebook and stealing my photos."
Tuiasosopo has not spoken publicly since the news broke. His family has said they may speak out this week.
Te'o did an off camera interview with ESPN last week and is scheduled to appear on appear with his parents on Katie Couric's syndicated talk show Thursday.
Diane O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating a fake woman called Lennay Kekua. Te'o asserts he was tricked into an online romance with Kekua and, until last week, did not understand he was being hoaxed.
O'Meara went to high school in California with Tuiasosopo, but she says they're not close. He called to apologize Jan. 16, the day Deadspin.com broke the hoax story, she said.
"I don't think there's anything he could say to me that would fix this," said O'Meara, a 23-year-old marketing executive in Los Angeles.
O'Meara said she had never had any contact with Te'o, and that for five years, Tuiasosopo "has literally been stalking my Facebook and stealing my photos."
Tuiasosopo has not spoken publicly since the news broke. His family has said they may speak out this week.
Te'o did an off camera interview with ESPN last week and is scheduled to appear on appear with his parents on Katie Couric's syndicated talk show Thursday.
A couple of things.... I am shocked that Te'o himself, his manager, agent, lawyer, family, etc. did not investigate this long ago. Being that he is in the public eye, he is a prime target for scammers, moochers, etc. Are they all really that stupid or ignorant? He has noone to blame but himself for falling for something like this and surrounding himself with people who don't care enough or aren't smart enough to have seen through this. I'm curious, can it be considered identity theft if you use someone's picture without their permission and say that the picture is of a different person?
 @The WA Mama I don't see how he couldn't have known and been a part of it all. Too many holes in his accounts of various aspects of the fake relationship, including his stories about spending the night with her on the phone and waking up in the morning listening for her breathing and how hard it was going to be no longer hearing it.
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Those phone records confirming the nightly eight-hour phone calls just haven't turned up yet, darn his luck.Â
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He also referred to the non-existent tragic death several times publicly, including at the Heisman awards banquet, even after Notre Dame had confirmed it had checked the death records and Stanford's enrollment, knew for sure the girlfriend never existed and had discussed that in depth with Te'o. .Â
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This is just wrong on so many levels.. by the comments others have made, it would be the victims fault.. They didn't check things out..
For those who think it is the victims fault, think of it as a home burglary.. you are away, and you didn't install break proof glass in your windows... it is then your fault you got burglarized..Â
For this young man, this other person was telling him things he liked, and as such developed the desire to meet.. the perpetrator supplied a picture, which further pushed the building of the online relationship. Some young men do not have the experience to be guarded with their emotions.. and something like this can be devestating.
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I know, this same thing happened to my son.. Great young man and still, thankfully, trusting of others.. He was 19 when this happened to him.. an older woman sent him some olde pictures of her friends daughter..and pursued the relationship. It devistated my son.. I don't wish this on any other person,
This boy has taken fantasy to a whole new level: Fake Cyber
Seriously this is just more fuel to the reason that acts such as this need to be handled harshly... I hope the POS responsible for this gets sued and sees some prison time over this hoax!
 @Freespeech Disagree this just shows that people and the Media need to do more research before choosing to believe something.Â