Tuiasosopo to Dr. Phil: I was in love

Face of Te'o's girlfriend says hoaxster confessed

The woman who was unknowingly the face of Lennay Kekua said the man who concocted the hoax confessed to her and said he wanted to end the ruse that snared Notre Dame star Manti Te'o many times before it unraveled.

Diane O'Meara is the woman whose pictures were used to make an online profile of Kekua, the fake person who Te'o said he fell for without meeting in person. O'Meara said Ronaiah Tuiasosopo told her that he created the hoax and wanted to end it before Kekua "died" in September, but Te'o wanted the relationship with Kekua to continue.

O'Meara spoke with The Associated Press by phone Thursday from New York with her attorneys in the room. O'Meara said Tuiasosopo confessed in a 45-minute phone call Jan. 14 that he'd "stalked" her Facebook profile for five years and stolen photos to create Kekua.

The 23-year-old O'Meara, of Long Beach, said when Tuiasosopo sent her a Facebook message Dec. 16, it was the first time he'd contacted her since high school.

It was also 10 days after Te'o said he received a call from the person pretending to be Kekua, saying she was alive after all.

O'Meara said Tuiasosopo called and told her about a serious car accident that left his cousin with major brain damage. He asked her for a photo with her holding up a sign reading "MSMK" — which Te'o says were the initials Kekua went by — and the date. Tuiasosopo said the idea was to cheer up his cousin on his birthday because he was facing surgery. O'Meara agreed.

Te'o provided a photo to Katie Couric that seems to be the shot O'Meara sent to Tuiasosopo. It was shown during Te'o's interview with Couric that was broadcast Thursday.

In early January, Tuiasosopo contacted O'Meara again to request more photos and a video of O'Meara saying "good luck on the 7th." Tuiasosopo told her his cousin's brain surgery had been pushed back. On Jan. 6, he texted her "Hey diane, just wanted to thank you again for your prayers & support. Tomorrow is the big day & we are being as positive as we can be!"

Jan. 7 was the date of the BCS national championship between Notre Dame and Alabama. O'Meara learned her identity had been used by Tuiasosopo to create Kekua when a Deadspin.com reporter contacted her last week and Tuiasosopo confessed.

O'Meara said she feels "violated" and "exposed" by what happened. Her attorney Jim Artiano said he is evaluating the situation and has not decided on whether to take any legal action.

Related Photos

Talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw interviews Ronaiah Tuiasosopo (right) during taping for the "Dr. Phil Show" in Los Angeles Jan. 24, 2013. The program, scheduled to air Thursday, Jan. 31, and Friday, Feb. 1, will show the first on-air interview of Tuiasosopo, the man who allegedly concocted the girlfriend hoax that ensnared Notre Dame football star Manti Te'o. (AP Photo/CBS Television Distribution/Peteski Productions)
Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o stands on the sidelines during an NCAA college football game against Oklahoma in Norman, Okla., Oct. 27, 2012. Notre Dame issued a release Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2013, saying a story about Te'o's girlfriend dying, which he said inspired him to play better as he helped the Fighting Irish get to the BCS title game, turned out to be a hoax apparently perpetrated against the linebacker. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
This image released by NBC shows Diane O' Meara on NBC News' "Today" show, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013 in New York. O'Meara told NBC's "Today" show that Ronaiah Tuiasosopo used pictures of her without her knowledge in creating a fake woman called Lennay Kekua, who was Notre Dame football player Manti Te'o's supposed girlfriend. O'Meara said she had never had any contact with Te'o. (AP Photo/NBC, Peter Kramer)

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January 31, 2013

Tuiasosopo to Dr. Phil: I was in love

By Pat Eaton-Robb Associated Press Thu Jan 31, 2013, 10:16 AM CST

A California man said he created the hoax involving former Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o and a fake girlfriend because he was in love with the football player.

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo spoke publicly for the first time in an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw for the "Dr. Phil Show," the first part of which aired Thursday.

The 22-year-old Tuiasosopo said he created the online persona of Lennay Kekua, a nonexistent woman who Te'o said he fell for without ever meeting in person and later believed had died of leukemia.

Tuiasosopo said Te'o knew nothing of the hoax. "He had no involvement," Tuiasosopo said. "He did not know anything."

He also said the loyalty and support he gave Te'o was real.

Tuisasosopo said he decided to confess to Te'o earlier this month as the hoax was unraveling because he felt he could not go any further with his own life until the truth was out.

"You've heard of recovering drug addicts? It takes a lot of courage to stand and say that," he said "To recover from homosexuality and this type of thing. Not only that, coming back to your real life, as hard as a task as that is I'm going to do all that I can to live right."

McGraw said that statement bothered him.

"I hope it's a pressure you don't put on yourself," he said.

Tuiasosopo said he killed the Kekua character on the day in September Te'o learned his grandmother died, following an argument with Te'o. The football star had told Kekua he didn't need her, Tuiasosopo said.

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Perpetrator Admits Feelings for Te'o

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