Aug 23, 2022 · On Dec. 26, Notre Dame coaches were informed by Manti Te'o and his parents that Manti had been the victim of what appears to be a hoax in which someone using the fictitious name Lennay Kekua ...

Jan 16, 2013 · SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Notre Dame says a story about Manti Te'o 's girlfriend dying, which he said inspired him to play better as he helped the Fighting Irish get to the BCS National...

Aug 17, 2022 · Te’o, of course, was the great Notre Dame linebacker who in 2012 dedicated his Heisman finalist season to his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua, who he said died of leukemia before an early season...

Sep 2, 2020 · NFL linebacker Manti Te'o shared photos from his recent wedding, which came several years after he was caught up in a catfishing hoax involving a fake girlfriend.

Jan 21, 2013 · Kekua befriends Te'o on Facebook in the winter of his freshman year in Notre Dame, he tells ESPN. He messages her back saying, "I'm Manti." At this point they would begin an on-again, off-again relationship that would resume later with texts and phone calls.

Aug 16, 2022 · Lennay Kekua is a fictional woman that Naya and others created to catfish Manti. “He said that they met through his cousin nearly four years ago and started ‘dating’ on Oct. 15, 2011,” Sports...

Aug 17, 2022 · More than nine years after Deadspin exposed the truth about Te'o dating a woman who didn't exist, the embattled and embarrassed former football prodigy is finally telling his side of the story in...

Aug 15, 2022 · When the ND star led the Fighting Irish to victory, Te’o’s inspirational quotes about his dead girlfriend and grandmother went viral. “It was hard,” he said at a news conference after the ...

Aug 26, 2022 · Lennay Kekua was a fake persona created by Naya Tuiasosopo – who at the time didn't realize she was a transgender woman – and had gotten in contact with Te'o cousin, Shiloah Te'o, using the ...

Jan 17, 2025 · A Netflix doc about Manti Te'o and his fake girlfriend showed how the media framed questions about the player being straight or gay. Power 100 Coming Out Stories