“I’m still the same person — it’s just my looks that are different.”
It’s not every day you wake up to find that your relationship with your significant other has been sitting on a throne of lies. However, in the case of Katrina*, 20, her relationship was caught in a fishnet of lies. Unfortunately for this Berks student, her now ex-boyfriend, AJ*, was a false pretense.
Katrina was introduced to AJ by mutual friends, but she never had the opportunity to meet him in person. AJ, a Syracuse University undergrad, was talking to Katrina for ten months before he confessed that his pictures online were not real.
Their relationship never lacked in communication, as they texted and called each other almost every day. It seemed like a typical long distance relationship — until Katrina discovered the truth behind the poorly lit Skype chats and inconvenient meeting times.
On Jan. 22, Katrina was told by a friend that she found AJ’s Facebook page. However, Katrina was told numerous times by AJ in the past that he did not have a Facebook, only a Twitter and Instagram.
At first, Katrina assumed that AJ was cheating on her. She didn’t imagine that she was being catfished. After further investigation, Katrina discovered that the Facebook page with AJ’s picture was under a different name and was actually an underground rapper/songwriter.
“He said he used different pictures because nowadays women only go for looks or sex appeal. He wanted to know if I was really into him and if I liked him as a person,” Katrina said.
It isn’t news that many women do go for the whole package: good looks, smarts, a sense of humor, etc. However, what women seek most is communication, and above all else, the TRUTH.
AJ said that everything about him, — his feelings, compliments, life story, etc.– was real except for his pictures. But this doesn’t stray away from the initial lie, which was based around the foundation of their relationship.
As of right now, Katrina and AJ are no longer together. Katrina not only discontinued their friendship, but she has also deleted and blocked him from her Instagram, Twitter and phone.
“I don’t feel the need to keep in contact with him because I feel like it would cause problems. If we began talking again it would bring back memories. I don’t want that,” Katrina said.
It seems as if the feeling was mutual, since a day later AJ deleted his Twitter and Instagram accounts. After having been told that for ten months AJ’s appearance was a lie, Katrina finds it hard to trust him again.
“It’s sad because I find myself looking at the underground rapper’s Twitter and I’m like ‘wow that’s my AJ’, but it’s really not,” she said. “I should have looked at the big picture, but I was so into him that I didn’t bother to question anything else.”
Her advice for single collegiettes: “Make sure you know who you’re talking to or dating. If anything seems suspicious, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Get all the information first because it sucks to love someone and have to let them go.”
On the bright side, at least Katrina didn’t find out about AJ’s false identity from Nev Schulman, the host of the MTV show “Catfish.”
*Names have been changed for privacy purposes