We now know that the perpetrator of the hoax of the year, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, is one sick individual. But we just learned that he is also in love with former college football star Manti Te’o.
Tuiasosopo is a man who has struggled with his identity his entire life. His feelings for the same sex run counter to his culture, his religion and most certainly his family. According to media reports, Tuiasosopo has never had a serious physical relationship with anyone before and developed a female persona as a way to express his true orientation.
When Tuiasosopo ran the “catfish” scam on Te’o, he unintentionally developed “intense feelings” for the former Notre Dame linebacker, according to tmz.com. This is the first time, however, that Tuiasosopo fell for someone emotionally, though he’s run this scam on other people before.
This would explain why Tuiasosopo blew his cover when he called Te’o on Dec. 6, long after the person he made up, Lennay Kekua, had died from Leukemia. Tuiasosopo could not stop a relationship that had gone on for three years, on and off.
Because of his inner torment brought about his confused feelings about himself, Tuiasosopo shut down emotionally and began to play out much of his life through fantasy. He has shut down his emotions for so long that it may be irreversible.
How does this make Te’o look? Well, after he admitted that he lied about his fake girlfriend to the media even after he found out the truth, this doesn’t help his situation out at all.
