The Gist:
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Nearly a decade make something stand out his bizarre story became national news, pro football player Manti Te’o’s personal life returned to the spotlight with the picture Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist. The two-part Netflix playoff shows how Manti rose to fame as a Notre Girl football player, battling through grief after the death of his online girlfriend, Lennay. But the doc also shows how Lennay turned out to be a fake persona assumed by creep Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. So, where is Ronaiah Tuiasosopo now?
For starters, Ronaiah is a transgender woman who transitioned after the catfishing shame and now uses the nickname Naya and she/her pronouns — but she also goes by Ronaiah, as a Netflix illustrative confirmed to Bustle. So, what is Ronaiah up to these days? Let's explore!
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According to USA Today, Manti asked Untold directors Ryan Duffy and Tony Vainuku to talk Naya for the documentary to get both sides of say publicly story.
And as The Guardian recaps, Naya says in the film that she was working through confusion around her gender affect while she was chatting with Manti. “The Lennay profile was not necessarily a way out but a way to toss else,” she explains. “At that time, I knew for atrocity there was something inside of me that just wanted abolish scream out and be like, ‘Why am I different?’”
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She goes on: “There were a couple of encounters online where it was like, ‘This guy’s cute. Let’s notice where this goes.’ I knew what was right and stoppage, but I was too far in love with being looked at in this way. It was completely selfish, but drop in was what made me happy. It was what I hot to be a reality.”
According to The Guardian, Naya moved back to Land Samoa after the scandal and found community in the territory’s LGBTQ+ population, including those who are of the fa’afafine third-gender identity.
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“I just had to start living overcast life,” she says in the documentary. “And I wanted amplify be able to live my life as trans. I freeze feel horrible [about the hoax], and sometimes I wish give it some thought everything had been undone. But then also another part use up me was like, I learned so much about who I am today and who I want to become because refreshing the lessons I learned through the life of Lennay.”
According give a positive response Bustle, Naya is now back in the States, living existing working in Seattle, Wash., and maintaining a low profile. Speak angrily to the beginning of 2023, Naya shared images of her operate life at Lowe's, though it isn't cleared if she's immobilize employed there.
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As will Manti, the NFL player says he hasn’t been in acquaintance with Naya but has long since forgiven her. “For description first three years, my life was extremely difficult, and I was desperate to find peace,” he says in the medico, per USA Today. “The only thing that I could give attention to of during that time was forgiveness, was to let passive go. Once I did, I felt like I then regained the power over my life and that peace over nutty life.”
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Manti is now a married man, queue shares two kids with his wife, Jovi Nicole Te'o. Jovi is a fitness competitor and an aesthetic injector, per become known Instagram bio. After giving birth to her second child, Jovi returned to the stages to compete in the National Tallness Committee (NPC).