Diane O’Meara dishes on Manti Te’o
After being falsely identified as the girlfriend of a famed Notre Dame football player, Diane O’Meara is finally breaking her silence. As previously reported, Manti Te’o has been a constant topic of conversation after Deadspin broke news that he’d been “Catfish’d” or fooled into dating a woman online that never existed. O’Meara, whom Te’o believed was his leukemia-stricken girlfriend Lennay Kekua, made an appearance on the “Today” show Wednesday to set the record straight. According to the 23-year-old marketing exec, a Facebook friend of hers named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo stole pictures of her to create the Lennay Kekau character. O’Meara also added that Tuiasosopo called her Jan. 16 to apologize after news of the hoax broke. “I don’t think there’s anything he could say to me that would fix this,” said O’Meara.”[Tuiasosopo] has literally been stalking my Facebook and stealing my photos.”
O’Meara also added that she’s currently in a serious relationship, but not with the college athlete whom she’s never met. “I have my own boyfriend of five years,” she told Savannah Guthrie. “To hear that you’re part of a second relationship, it’s frustrating. It’s hard to see.” And while the majority of her photos were stolen, O’Meara mentioned that Tuiasosopopo asked her for a photo to use in a slideshow to commemorate his “cousin” who tragically passed away. She believes that the photo was also sent to Te’o.
Te’o told EPSN that he had no role in the hoax and he was duped by a person who has since apologized to him. He would later confirm that the person was Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, whom he called a 22-year-old acquaintance who lives in California.
Check out Diane O’Meara discussing the Manti Te’o hoax below. –danielle canada
