The story of Te’o and his fake girlfriend is a complex and mysterious one, which Netflix’s new two-part documentary 

Refresher on Manti Te’o catfishing scandal that rocked college football as new Netflix doc premiere

Only, his girlfriend didn't actually die. His girlfriend, the media discovered, didn't even exist. 

Football player Manti Te'o, who learned in 2012 that his late online  girlfriend was not only alive but also not the person she claimed 

The story of Te'o and his fake girlfriend is a well-known one, but the story of Tuiasosopo 

Manti Te'o -- the college football superstar who fell for one of the most famous catfishing scams to date  

He contends he never heard the phrase burned into our collective online dating lexicon until Christmas 2012.