Catfish: The TV Show (2012–…): Season 4, Episode 16 - Thad & Sara - full transcript
Thaddius sought refuge from his struggling marriage through an online relationship with Sara. But, when Sara starts telling strange tales of seizures and kidnappings, Thaddius starts to question her true identity.
>> That's it right there.
>> This is it right here.
This is it.
This is it. Oh, boy.
There's no turning back now.
Let's do it.
The window is, like,
boarded up with a mattress.
Hello?
All the blinds are closed
in every window.
>> She'll be here eventually.
>> Someone's home.
[dog barks]
Someone's home.
>> This could be
not cool for them.
They might really freak out.
[upbeat music]
[whistle blowing]
[laughter]
We got an email.
It's a long subject.
"I thought I had figured it out,
but being catfished was the tip
of the iceberg." Here we go.
>> "Dear Nev and Max,
my name is Thaddius.
I am a former corrections
officer from Texas."
>> "I was having a lot
of problems at home recently,
and I needed someone to turn to,
but I felt like I could not turn
to anyone I knew.
I needed a stranger's
perspective.
Enter Sara Jackson.
Sara was amazing.
She was able to give me
the advice I needed to hear.
I bared my soul to this girl.
After a month or so,
Sara admitted
to developing feelings for me.
I found myself feeling the same.
At one point,
Sara wanted to meet.
This meeting never happened
because she had a seizure
and had to be rushed
to the hospital.
Not long after,
apparently her ex abducted her,
but she called me the next day
saying she had escaped."
>> Great excuse, Sara.
>> What the hell?
"That is where I had enough.
That's when I had enough.
I decided to look into Sara,
and after hours of searching,
found that her real name
was Ashley.
I kept searching
and came across the real girl
in the pictures who happens
to also be named Sara."
This guy is smart.
"She told me that Ashley
has been doing this for years.
This is not just for me
or the real Sara.
It's also
for her future victims.
Please, help me get answers
and also make it stop."
>> * You're the trouble I want *
* You're my troublemaker *
>> Well, this is an interesting
story.
Here's a guy, Thaddius,
who knows what's up.
The heartache's over.
The mystery is basically solved,
but now it's like
there's a person out there
that's doing a lot
of destruction.
We should stop her.
>> All right. Thaddius.
Let's get him on the horn.
Be on your best behavior.
He is a corrections officer.
>> That's true.
>> Hey.
>> Thaddius.
>> Hey.
>> You have the coolest name
ever.
>> Thank you.
>> Tell us a little bit
about yourself,
where you're from.
Like, give us the story.
>> I'm a former corrections
officer.
>> That seems like
a pretty rough job.
>> It can be.
If you can just do your job the
right way, they'll respect you.
You won't have
too many problems.
>> So we just read your email.
This girl seemed
to really affect you.
What happened?
>> Well, I needed somebody
to talk to because I am married,
but I was planning
on leaving my wife.
>> Do you and your wife
have kids?
>> Yes,
and I don't like a broken home.
I'm from a broken home.
I don't like it, but for
the past two to three years
I have been unhappy.
I didn't want
any friends' advice.
I didn't want my mom,
parents, whoever.
I needed a stranger's view
on it.
I found Sara through the People
You May Know.
I added random people.
Guys, girls--it didn't matter.
Just somebody
who I could talk to.
Sara gave me good advice.
She told me, "You should try
counseling to try
to save your marriage."
When I talked to my wife,
we came to an agreement that,
you know, being separated is
something that we needed to do.
About a week later, Sara
admitted that she started
falling for me.
After about a month or so,
things started getting crazy.
We were supposed to meet.
She called me
before she got on a plane.
She messaged me saying
how excited she was.
She couldn't sit still
in her seat.
About 40 minutes
before being there,
I didn't hear anything from her.
No text, nothing.
It was about 24 hours after
that I finally got ahold of her,
and she told me that she had
a seizure and her mom came
and picked her up and took
her back to Oklahoma City.
She always came up with excuses
why we could not meet.
Stories of kidnapping,
hypothermia.
That's pretty much where I had
the last straw of it all.
I'm wanna figure out
who this real person is.
So I kept doing research,
and I found a profile of Ashley,
and everything that she posted
on her real profile
she also posted
on her fake profile.
>> Plus, you actually
found the girl in the photos.
>> I did.
I messaged the real Sara.
I told her about Ashley
and my wife and everything,
and that's when Sara Marie
told me that Ashley
has been using her pictures
and her name for seven years
as a catfish.
>> Wow.
>> So I figured this
happened to me for a reason.
Maybe this is the reason.
If I can help Sara put a stop
to it, I'm gonna do it.
>> Does your wife
know all about Sara and Ashley
and this whole situation?
>> Yes.
It hurt her that I had moved on
as fast as I did.
I believe this is punishment
for me.
I believe I deserve this,
because she didn't deserve that.
>> So basically,
you feel like a sinner
for having
pursued this relationship
outside of your marriage.
>> Yeah. I feel bad.
>> And out of your own guilt,
you want to expose Ashley?
>> Yes.
I'm hoping, by confronting her,
this will actually stop.
I want to be able
to do something good
out of all this negativity.
>> All right.
Well, if you think this is gonna
help you, I'm down.
We can help you
figure some things out.
We can also help put an end
to this
for lots of other people.
>> Sounds good, man.
Thanks, guys.
>> See you.
>> He is punishing himself...
>> Right.
>> Publicly, in order
to cleanse himself of his sins.
>> He developed feelings
for another woman
while still married,
feels badly about it.
>> There are real stakes here.
>> I got a lot of packing to do.
You go to your room.
>> All right.
>> I'll pack up my room,
and we'll head to Texas.
>> Texas, baby.
>> Here we go.
Another crazy Catfish adventure.
>> * When I look back
* I see trails of myself
>> All right, Thaddius.
We're coming for you.
>> * All that I know
* Is I'm leaving that person *
* Behind
We made it, y'all.
We're meeting him
at an undisclosed location
because he was a corrections
officer.
>> This is some
True Detective [bleep].
>> This sure is.
[doorbell dings]
Hey.
>> Hey.
>> Hey.
>> There he is.
>> How's it going?
>> Wow.
>> Do you guys have a vampire
problem around here?
>> You took it off the wall?
What are you doing, Max?
Get out of here. What is this?
Max turns into
a Christian crusader
against vampires.
All right.
So start at the beginning,
which was at a couple years ago.
Things with you and your wife
started to get a little--
>> I'm not sure if it was really
with her or with myself,
but it kind of put me
into the point
to where it made me
look back on my life
as far as, "Where is this going?
What am I doing?
Why haven't I done the things
that I've always wanted to do?"
For two years, I battled it,
but it got to the point
to where I needed somebody's
perspective from the outside.
So I randomly added probably
about five to ten people
on the People You May Know,
just seeing if somebody
would actually talk to me.
And it was guys, girls.
It wasn't nothing particular
that I was looking for.
But only one messaged me back,
Sara Jackson.
Sara told me, "Tell your wife
how you feel,
but I think even
for the sake of your kids,
y'all need to work things out."
After I told my wife everything,
my wife came clean, "Look,
I've--honestly, I could tell
that you've been unhappy
for the past couple years,
and to be honest with you,
I have been too."
I mean, I later found out that
she didn't want me to see it,
that she was brokenhearted.
I didn't know that she
would cry behind the door.
I guess she thought
that I was too far gone,
that it didn't matter
what she told me.
>> So here you are now.
It's been a few months
of you and your wife sort of
taking some space
from each other
at which point things with Sara
are progressing to the point
where you're trying
to meet up with her.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> But all this drama kind
of starts to happen.
>> After the whole seizure
thing, these stories
even got crazier.
I was on the phone with her.
All of a sudden, she starts
hearing banging on the door,
and she looked,
and she said, "Oh, it's my ex."
I heard glass break.
She's sitting there frightened,
like she's fixing to die.
>> This is crazy, though,
that you're, like, on the phone
with someone as they may
or may not be murdered.
>> I heard cops
in the background.
I heard the radios.
I'm around radios
like that all the time.
All of this went up
until about 4:00 in the morning,
and the phone--the call dropped.
>> You must have felt,
like, totally helpless.
>> I couldn't do anything.
Before this,
she had given me her mom's phone
number for some reason.
I wind up calling her mom.
She didn't answer,
so I left a text message.
"Hey, is Sara okay?"
I called every police department
in the vicinity
of Oklahoma City.
I wind up getting ahold of
the missing persons department.
I mention the name.
No name has came across.
No Sara Jackson.
Not even 20 to 30 minutes later,
her mom said,
"Oh, Sara's in bed.
She looks beat up.
Her lip is busted."
>> You talked to her mom?
>> Not on the phone.
>> Not on the phone.
>> I text.
>> She's putting you
through the wringer.
>> I had enough,
so I reversed Sara's number,
came back with her stepdad,
Donald.
Through Donald,
I found an obituary
that was in Oklahoma,
so I looked at the first female
grandchildren,
and I found Ashley there.
I took Ashley's name,
went on the search engine,
found her profile,
and found that she posts
the exact same things
that she posted
on Sara's profile.
So I took a couple
of Sara Jackson's pictures...
>> Right.
>> And reversed them.
Soon as I did it,
Sara's profile popped up.
>> The real Sara.
>> Yes.
I get to this profile status
that says, "I am being
used again by Ashley.
#Nevhelpme.
#Catfish."
I'm serious.
>> So your sense of justice
was awakened.
>> Right.
Everything that's happened to me
with this catfish,
I believe that I
wholeheartedly deserve it.
>> Why are you whipping yourself
over this stuff?
Like, you already got punished.
Seems like the thing
you really need to do is,
like, do what needs to be done
in regards to the people
who probably need your help
the most--your wife, your kids.
>> We actually have been
trying to work things out,
especially for our kids.
>> So are things
with your wife much better?
>> Yeah.
We're communicating now.
I kept asking my wife, "Do you
think me doing this is crazy?"
She told me, "You've come
this far.
Why not finish
what you started?"
My purpose for this whole thing
is to try to pull something
positive from this negative.
>> What do you have to show us?
Do you have pictures of Ashley?
>> This is all I have of her.
>> This is the current Ashley
profile.
Can we see anything else?
>> That's it.
>> That's it.
She's got one cover photo.
Everything is private.
It's safe to assume that this is
something Ashley's very good at,
the other characters,
someone breaking into the house.
>> Breaking glass.
>> Her getting kidnapped.
>> She is making an art of this.
>> Yeah.
There's so many guys
that have been victims,
and how many
more is going to be victims?
What if this goes
beyond catfishing one day?
>> Right.
>> And she can actually steal
people's identities?
>> Right.
Who knows what this game--
her game could be?
>> Send us all that information.
Put it in an email.
>> Sounds good.
>> Good to meet you.
>> You too, man.
>> Hang in there.
All right.
I wasn't totally convinced
before we got there
what this guy's motives were,
but now that I've heard
how dire things were,
I get why he now
feels more of an obligation.
>> This girl knew he had
a family.
His whole life could've been
ruined.
[upbeat music]
>> Nice.
>> This place is cool.
>> Hey, guys.
Oh, no. What happened?
>> A boy.
He squeezed my hand,
and it popped out of place.
>> What boy?
>> A boy? On--like, on a date?
Squeezed your hand?
>> No. No, no, no, no.
>> After we're done figuring out
who this catfish is,
we're gonna find this guy
and kick his ass.
>> Okay.
>> We've got
an interesting story here.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Thaddius,
who's married with kids,
struggling in his relationship
with his wife, ends up talking
to this girl, Sara Jackson.
Not too far into it,
he starts feeling for her.
She admits she's feeling things
for him.
They make a whole plan to meet.
It doesn't happen, so--
>> He decides to take matters
into his own hands.
>> So he figures out,
at least he thinks, who the real
girl he's been talking to is.
This girl, Ashley.
He also thinks he finds the girl
in the pictures, Sara Marie.
Now what he wants to do
is confront Ashley
and encourage her to stop
for her own good
and for the well-being
of others as well.
All right, Max.
You ready? Here we go.
We got an email from Thaddius.
"Here's the information
on what I have from my research.
The real girl I believe was
behind the fake profile
is Ashley [bleep].
The other victims I'm aware of
are Joe, Marcus, Cory.
The girl in the pictures
is Sara Marie.
Facebook URL." Bingo.
Here's the real girl,
Sara Marie.
This definitely feels
like a legit profile.
Why don't we just
send her a message?
>> Yeah.
>> Just to get that
out of the way.
"Hey, Sara.
I'm in Texas with Thaddius,
who you spoke with recently.
He got catfished
by someone using your photos.
Don't take this the wrong way,
but we need to be sure you
are the real Sara Marie.
>> Send.
>> So now, let's reach out
to the other dudes
who got catfished by Ashley.
Marcus. Bam. Sent.
Sending the same message
to Cory.
Let's send this guy a message.
"Hey, Joe." All right.
We're putting out
some feelers, Max.
Let's see how these guys
get back to us
and if they know anything
that we don't already
know about Ashley.
Let's look up Ashley.
Let's just search her
and see what comes up.
>> Whoa.
Oh, boy.
Larceny of merchandise.
>> Oh, boy.
>> 6'1"?
>> This woman will crush me.
[laughter]
>> Let's go to the other one.
That's June 2014.
>> Different date.
>> Larceny again.
>> Question is did
she go to jail or not?
Because if she's in jail,
how's she doing this?
Look at this. Oklahoma City.
>> All right, we got an address.
>> We got an address.
So this is great,
because this could be an actual
house that we can show up at--
[phone rings]
Oh, my God.
>> Oh, we're getting a call.
>> From Florida.
Hello?
>> Or Joe, right?
We're actually
making an episode right now.
I'm sitting here with Max.
Say hi, Max.
>> Hi, Max.
>> So what can you tell me
about Sara Jackson?
>> And did you guys
ever make plans to meet up?
>> What happened?
>> Did she have seizures?
>> Did she ever get kidnapped?
>> And then how did it end?
>> Did she say why she did it?
>> Thank you for helping us.
>> Bye, Joe.
The same story.
>> I know.
Whatever she's doing,
she's doing it really well
and has been doing it
for a long time.
[computer beeps]
Oh, we got a message back.
Sara Marie.
"Skype is easier for me.
I can Skype now
if you're available."
Let's get her on Skype.
[computer beeping]
Hello.
>> Sara.
>> It's really you.
>> It's really me.
>> You obviously know
why we're calling because...
>> Yeah.
>> Your face
and pictures of you have been
used now for a while.
>> I think it's gone on for
about, like, seven years now.
At this point,
I don't think she realizes
that I am a real person.
I confronted her.
She knows that I know.
She's told me
she was gonna stop.
She clearly hasn't stopped.
I just want to stand in front
of her and have her look at me
for, like, two minutes
and realize, "Oh, my gosh.
This is a real person."
>> Well, what we're starting
to realize here
is that this girl is leaving
a real wake of destruction.
>> Yeah.
>> So I think it
would be good for her
that we get as many people
that she's messed with
in front of her to, like,
help her understand that what
she's doing is really messed up.
>> Like an intervention.
>> We're here in Texas
with Thaddius.
>> Okay.
>> We're not that from Oklahoma,
so you could meet us here,
and then we could go
all together.
>> Road trip.
>> We know where she lives.
So at the very least,
we can drive there.
>> I don't know.
I'm--I'm kind of scared.
I'm not gonna lie.
>> Who better to confront Ashley
than the girl
who she's been imitating?
>> I'm scared, but let's do it.
>> Sara, we will see
you really soon.
>> All right, guys.
>> Bye.
>> Bye.
>> See you when you get here.
>> We've got proof
from the real Sara.
We've got our girl.
We know where she lives.
The only thing we don't know
is what's gonna happen
when we get there.
[knock at door]
>> All right.
Last night, I called Thaddius.
I just wanted to check in
with him to make sure
he was cool with Sara coming,
because it's gonna
be a little weird.
He's had a crush on her pictures
for a while,
and things with his wife
are getting better.
He said he was thrilled
that she's coming.
>> Let's be honest.
It's just another body
in the body count when--
once we get to Ashley.
>> That's true.
[phone vibrates]
>> I just got a text from Sara.
She said, "Hey,
I'm just a few minutes away."
>> All right.
Let's do it.
I think that's her.
>> What?
Sara.
>> There she is.
Hi.
>> Hi, how are you?
>> Good, how are you?
>> Nice to meet you.
>> Welcome to Texas.
>> Thank you.
>> The plan is we're gonna
go over to meet Thad.
>> Okay.
Oh, my gosh. This is crazy.
>> This could be an opportunity,
finally, for you to sort of
set the record straight.
>> Yeah. I've found a handful
of guys, and they have found me,
but I know there's more people
out there
that think they've talked to me.
I'm so nervous right now.
>> Weird, because,
like, usually the person who's
nervous to meet is
the hopeful meeting the catfish.
But you're now the real person
meeting the hopeful,
and it's like you're worried.
>> I'm just--
>> He's probably more nervous
than anyone.
>> Yeah, I bet.
>> Hey.
>> What's going on, Nev?
>> Sara.
>> Hi, Sara.
>> Hi. Nice to meet you.
>> Thaddius.
>> Nice to meet you too.
>> Max you know.
Let's go inside.
>> Here we are.
>> Okay.
>> [laughs]
Like, this is so awkward.
>> What is it?
Is it--is it weird?
>> It's definitely awkward.
>> It is awkward.
It's awkward for me to meet her
'cause she was not
who I was talking to.
>> Can we hear
why it's awkward for you?
>> Just having countless guys
find you and think
that they were in love with--
it's just the weirdest.
It's awkward.
>> Yeah.
>> Why don't you give us
your whole side of the story?
>> Okay.
I'm not sure
how long it's gone on for.
It first came to my attention
back in 2010.
I received an email
from a guy named Sam.
"Hey, Sara, I have wasted
almost a year of my life
talking to a girl
that claims she is you.
Can you help me clarify
who you are?"
So I was quick to write my URL
on a piece of paper
and take a picture of it.
Sam emailed me back.
"I can't believe this.
Thanks for taking those photos.
I feel like a fool."
We exchange phone numbers,
and I type it in my phone.
Then, I would say probably
about three years later,
I get a friend request
from a guy named Joe.
And Joe was in a relationship
with me,
and I thought that was
the weirdest thing ever.
I'm like,
"Who is this guy in Florida
that thinks he's dating me?"
So me and Joe
start going back and forth,
and I explained to him,
"This girl's been
impersonating me,
and I want some information
on her."
Like, you know,
"Where does she live?
I want her phone number."
He gives me the phone number.
I type it in my phone,
and it's saved under Sam.
She was pretending to be Sam
to try to get my photos.
>> Wow.
>> I was like, "Whoa.
I just got played."
>> This was actually Ashley
behind this Sam profile.
>> That's sick.
>> Why? Why?
>> At that point,
Joe sent me this picture.
>> She is manipulating you
to take a picture.
>> And write
whatever she wants on it.
>> She photoshopped
the social media accounts.
>> Pretty good job.
I mean, like, the angle and--
>> So creepy.
>> I mean, that would--
if I was asking for evidence
about something
and she sent me that, I would--
>> Really?
>> I would buy it.
>> It's gotten to the point
where
I've had everything private
and she still gets in there.
She has pictures
that I posted up.
Like, my friends
have posted of me.
Like, she's deep into this.
>> Yeah.
>> And I'm telling you hundreds.
I'm not even--
I'm not saying just a couple.
I mean hundreds
of photos of you.
>> It's so much deeper than her
just taking my photos.
It's my sister and my niece.
>> 11 years old? 12 years old?
>> Yeah. 12. Oh, my God.
That's so crazy
that she knows that.
See? That's--
>> Like, honestly, Sara,
I think she believes that she
is you when she talks to people.
>> I sometimes think that too,
but then at the same time,
I don't think
she thinks I'm a real person.
>> I think
that she uses that persona
to either run away from her life
or what's going on.
I don't know,
but this is ridiculous.
>> Yeah.
>> All right, so we
did some research yesterday.
So we started here.
We just did
a basic Google search,
and the first, like,
couple things
that show up
include arrest record.
She's been arrested twice,
and it says "larceny
of merchandise."
>> This is crazy.
>> Crazy.
We looked up her name.
It actually came back
with an address,
and it looks pretty current.
>> I say we go confront her.
Ask the questions. Why?
>> We got her number,
so we should call her.
[phone line rings]
>> At the tone,
please record your message.
[phone beeps]
>> Hello, Ashley.
This is Nev
from the MTV show, Catfish.
I have some questions, so give
me a call back and hopefully
we will speak soon.
Thanks.
Now, we wait.
>> What happens
if she doesn't contact?
>> We have her address.
>> We know where she lives.
>> We should just go.
>> If I were her, really.
>> I would run.
>> Whoo.
>> And we're back.
So here we are.
Ashley never replied back
or called back,
so we came to the conclusion
of just showing up at her place.
I don't know what's going to
happen, to be honest with you.
I've come this far, though.
I'm not gonna give up just yet.
>> OKC.
>> She didn't get back to us,
so there's nothing left to do
but to just go.
>> You guys ready?
>> I'm ready.
>> Yeah.
>> Yo.
>> All right. Let's do it.
Come on.
>> * One step forward
* Step right back
>> Oklahoma City.
126 miles.
>> I never thought
this would happen.
>> * Run for the hills
* Run for the hills, run
>> I am so nervous.
>> You've been tortured by
this woman for almost a decade.
>> My hands are sweating a lot.
>> Thad, how do you feel?
>> I have a lot of guilt
as far as my wife and my family.
That's what led up
to this whole...
>> Right.
>> Ordeal, so...
>> Can I just say something?
You have a lot of guilt,
but you're actually, like,
pretty effective
at acting anyway.
People who are crippled by guilt
certainly wouldn't have written
into a TV show
in which they went on camera
and talked about the things
they were guilty of.
You're actually a lot
stronger than you think you are.
>> I mean,
after all this, yeah.
I--I've realized that.
I feel good.
>> Why are you feeling good now?
>> 'Cause I'm doing something.
>> You're breaking free
from the guilt.
>> That's exactly what it is.
>> Okay, we're here
at our exit.
Oh, wow. This is her street?
>> That's it right there.
>> This is it right here.
This is it. This is it.
>> God, I'm so nervous
right now.
>> I'm actually pretty calm.
>> How are you calming yourself?
>> I think because I've pictured
this moment
of just getting in her face.
Just saying, "Look, this is me."
>> Oh, God.
>> "Here we are."
>> Well, let's consider
for a minute that, like,
this girl, Ashley, or this woman
or this whoever it is,
they might really freak out.
Like, this could be
not cool for them.
>> Yeah.
>> And just the fact
that they now know
we're making a show
about them probably--
>> It's pretty scary.
>> It's freaking them out.
All right, sunglasses are off.
>> All right, guys.
Everybody ready to do this?
>> There's no turning back now.
Let's do it.
>> Let's do it.
>> Let's do this.
[suspenseful music]
*
>> Holy [bleep].
The window is, like,
boarded up with a mattress.
>> She mentioned that.
>> She mentioned that?
>> She mentioned how something
was blocking the windows.
[dog barking]
>> Hello?
[dog barking]
>> Oh, my gosh.
[dog barking]
>> Hello?
>> All the blinds
are closed in every window.
And, like, this window's
like covered.
[suspenseful music]
[dog barking]
*
>> Someone's home.
I mean, there's a car here.
>> Someone's home.
>> The air conditioning.
>> Maybe they just stepped out
for, like, a minute?
[knock at door]
>> The light aren't--
are not on.
>> I feel like she's probably
hiding out somewhere.
>> That's why we should talk
to a neighbor.
You know your neighbor, Ashley?
>> No.
>> Oh, you don't know her?
>> No.
>> Oh, okay.
>> I told you I didn't think
she was gonna be here.
>> She'll be here, though.
Eventually.
[knock at door]
[dramatic music]
*
[knock at door]
>> Hello.
>> Hello.
>> Hey, how you doing?
>> I'm doing good.
>> What's your name?
>> My name's Haniv.
>> Haniv? Wow,
that's like my name.
My name's Yaniv.
>> Oh, okay.
>> I'm not sure
if you know anything
about a TV show called Catfish.
>> I've heard of it.
>> Cool.
I make that show,
and I've got my crew here.
>> Okay.
>> We're actually looking
for someone
who lives across the street,
Ashley.
Ever heard or seen anything kind
of weird going on over there?
>> Just occasionally,
I'll hear someone hollering.
>> Oh, like, some yelling?
>> Yeah.
And it'll come outside
on the front lawn.
>> A guy and a girl?
>> It'll be a--sometimes
a girl hollering at a guy
or a guy hollering at a girl.
>> Is it the large--
is Ashley that larger woman?
>> She's one of 'em.
>> One of 'em.
But sometimes,
there's other--another woman?
>> Yes.
>> Thanks.
>> All right. No problem.
>> He doesn't know them, but he
definitely knows there's a woman
that stays there.
But also a couple other people,
and sometimes they yell
at each other.
And sometimes it's Ashley
and a guy.
Sometimes she's yelling at him.
Sometimes he's yelling at her.
>> Well, that could be
the ex-boyfriend or--
>> That's what I'm thinking.
Or the--
>> Right. The violent--
Yeah.
>> Let's get back to the hotel
and regroup and figure
out what's next.
>> * Sticking to your guns
* Always
>> There's not much else we can
do right now other than just--
>> Wait for her?
>> Lurk around the corners?
>> * The sooner it comes
* Oh, the sooner it's gone *
[phone beeps]
>> I just got a text
from Ashley.
"I'm mind blown you came
to my house with Catfish.
Really?"
So it looks like
I have struck a nerve.
>> * Call off the hunt
*
[phone rings]
>> Hey, what's up?
How about you sleep on it?
[phone beeps]
>> Okay.
So Ashley just texted me.
She said, "I'll do it,"
and then she sent me an address.
It's her friend's house.
We'll see what tomorrow brings,
and I'll see you guys
in the morning.
>> The sophistication level
with which this person's been
manipulating multiple people
suggests that this story
may not be as cut-and-dry
as it now appears to be.
>> I can't imagine it
getting any weirder.
>> Famous last words.
>> This is the little street
we're turning on, guys.
We're close.
>> Oh, my God.
Oh, [bleep].
>> 6-0-7.
That's 6-0-9 there.
This is it, guys.
Oh, boy.
[suspenseful music]
*
>> You know where you feel like
I just got the air
knocked out of me.
Are we seriously doing this?
Oh, my God.
*
I don't even want to look.
>> Hi.
>> Hi. Nice to meet you.
>> Nev.
>> I'm Ashley.
>> I have some people here
obviously are eager to meet you.
*
>> Hi, Thad.
>> Hello.
>> Sara.
>> Hi.
>> Just to be clear,
you are the one who's been
using Sara's pictures--
>> Sara's pictures. Yes.
>> Do you have any remorse
whatsoever?
>> Well, yeah. I mean, obviously
I've told you a lot of lies,
and I apologize for that.
Honestly.
>> Can you tell us a little bit
about yourself?
We don't know
what's true or not true, or--
>> Right. I have a daughter.
>> How old is your daughter?
>> She's four.
>> Are you working right now,
or--
>> No. I'm a stay-at-home mom
right now.
>> Had you been arrested?
We found something that, like--
>> Last year--last summer, yes.
I had been arrested.
That's not really something
I want to go too much into.
>> You started using
Sara's pictures,
like, eight years ago.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> What happened
eight years ago?
>> The first thing that happened
would've been I was engaged,
and I was supposed
to be married within two days.
He called me and told me,
basically,
"We're not getting married.
There's a girl that I've been
cheating on you with.
She's pregnant, and she
and I are going to get married."
So at the time,
I let myself get really,
really down about it.
>> It makes me sad
to hear you say that.
I sympathize with you,
but at the same time,
I have my own issues, you know,
and I don't run out and steal
someone's identity and--
>> You're right.
>> To me,
it just sounds like an excuse.
>> I understand that it--it most
definitely sounds like that,
and I can't--
I can't blame you
for feeling that way.
>> What's weird to me
is that you--you got burned.
I mean,
what happened with your fiancé.
That's messed up.
Why put yourself in a situation
where you enter a cycle
of you then, in turn,
hurting all of these other guys?
>> I didn't want
to hurt anybody.
>> But you have.
>> Yeah.
You've hurt a lot of people.
And--and they've told you
that you hurt them,
and you just keep going.
You find new people to hurt.
We've talked about this before.
I caught you.
>> Right.
>> You told me you'd stop.
Then you saw my pictures with my
niece, and you decided
that that would be okay to use.
How do you think
that makes me feel?
Totally violated,
and that's not even my kid.
>> You're right.
>> It's almost like you
literally are trying
to take my life and,
like, pretend it's yours.
>> There's no excuse
for any of those things.
>> What makes you say, "Okay,
I'm gonna come up with a story.
Tell him I'm being kidnapped."
You go so far with your stories.
I mean,
you get down to the detail.
You use these fake numbers
to pretend that you're your mom.
>> When you got kidnapped,
were you banging on the windows
and making a ruckus?
>> The police noises
and all that was just something
that was on YouTube.
>> After the first time
you pulled some crazy ass story
with a dude, why would you
go find another dude?
Like,
you know how it's gonna end.
They're gonna want to meet you
and you're not gonna meet them.
>> Honestly, I don't know.
I don't know the point.
The whole purpose
of this is for this to stop.
>> It needs to stop.
>> Let's take a break, and then
we'll chat a little bit more.
>> All right.
[dramatic music]
*
>> I just don't believe her
when she says she's gonna stop.
>> I don't believe her either,
to be honest with you.
I mean, I see her face.
I see her talking, but honestly?
I don't even
sympathize with her,
because I don't know
if it's true.
I think she feels like she wants
to stop now because we're here,
but as soon as we pull away,
her mind's gonna
get back in that set.
>> She's said all of this to me
before, you know?
>> Right.
>> Until she fully gets it,
then,
I don't think she's going--
>> Going to stop.
>> Right. 'Cause how could she?
She doesn't understand
what the problem is.
>> This episode of Catfish:
The TV Show continues now.
>> I'm gonna go talk to her.
>> Good luck.
[suspenseful music]
*
>> Hey.
>> How you doing?
>> A little overwhelmed.
>> Thaddius and Sara
both feel very...uncertain
that this particular event
will actually alter
your choices moving forward.
So the big concern is,
like, what will actually make
you stop?
>> I am definitely very
remorseful for this.
I don't--I don't show it
a whole lot because I--
I guess I feel
like if I let that show,
that makes
me even more vulnerable.
I think it's just
been a vicious cycle.
It was easier to keep up
what I was doing
rather than admit to myself
what the actual problems were.
>> Tell this to them, 'cause
that's what they need to hear.
[dramatic music]
*
Now's a chance to just be you.
>> All right.
>> And show us that,
like, you can do that,
hopefully, in the future.
So that they don't have
to worry, like, "Oh, man.
She's just gonna keep going back
to the old ways."
>> Yeah.
I guess,
mostly, this has been a way
of not owning up
to my own problems.
If I create a fake profile
and can be whoever I want to be,
I don't have to really face
who I really am.
Most of my life,
I have had a weight problem,
and I wish I could be someone
almost completely different
most of the time.
I am lonely 90% of the time.
That's not necessarily
anyone's fault but my own.
I have closed myself off
for so long,
but I do struggle all the time
with just feeling
like nobody really cares.
[somber music]
[sniffles]
*
>> Sara,
you seem pretty emotional.
>> I don't know.
I just--I don't want to talk.
I need a minute, okay?
Just, like, for a second.
I don't want
to cry on the camera.
[sniffles]
>> How do you feel?
>> I'm sorry for getting up
like that.
I just--I don't want
to make it about me.
It's not about me at all.
But, like, it's hard for me
to sit there and listen.
Like, to hear her talk
about her weight.
It makes me sad, because I
struggled with similar things.
I know we look
like two different people,
but I just want to tell her,
like, "I know how you feel."
[sighs]
>> Why don't you tell her?
>> She's probably looking at me
like, "Are you [bleep] kidding
me? What do you have
to worry about?"
>> But that's my point
is that if she learns
that it's universal in that,
like, everyone thinks that way.
It's just some--
>> Like, she's not alone.
>> She's not alone.
Forgive me, but,
like, you caught Thaddius
at a really vulnerable moment
in his life,
and you did nearly end
his marriage.
I mean, his marriage
had problems, but,
like, he almost, you know,
threw in the towel.
Thad, do you want
to explain that to her?
>> You knew that I was
in a dark place
as far as
I didn't know who I was.
You caught me at that time.
>> I should've thought about
those things, and that was--
it was a stupid, selfish thing
not to think about those things.
Maybe I just didn't want
to face it.
>> Sara.
>> I don't want
to talk about it.
I'm not trying to be difficult.
I just--I don't want to--
this is not about me.
[sniffles]
But don't feel
like you're not enough.
So just--
you deserve it just as much
as anybody else does.
>> Even the girl whose life
you've been pretending
to lead for the last eight years
has dealt with similar things
to what you're dealing with.
>> That's definitely not
something I would've ever
realized or known.
>> I'm not here to make
you feel bad about yourself.
>> You've done that...already.
We're here to help you try
to make yourself feel better
about yourself.
>> You know the kind of person
I am.
You know that I try to find
the good in every situation.
So I just wanted to tell
you just be yourself.
There's a lot of people
out there that care.
You just got to give
'em a chance.
>> Here's an example of what can
happen when you face your fears,
and then all of a sudden,
it's not so scary, and...
things start getting better.
>> Yeah.
I-I wish this had happened
sooner.
I just got to prove to you
that this is done...
no matter what I have to do
to make that happen.
>> Why don't we say good-bye?
>> Thanks.
>> Good luck with everything.
>> Thanks. You too.
And I appreciate it
more than you probably realize.
>> See you.
>> * This is the moment
* When you come up for air
>> Max, thank you for saying
what you said.
I know that she
needed to hear that,
but I wouldn't have been
able to say that.
>> I feel like a real weight
has been lifted
off of your shoulders.
>> It has.
>> And I feel like you can now
really move on from the guilt
that you've felt
and the sort of punishment
you've put yourself through.
>> I have never--I haven't felt
this good in a long time.
>> You went from Thaddius
to Raddius.
[laughter]
>> * That makes you feel alive
[phone rings]
>> Yo.
>> Hey.
>> What's up, bud?
>> Everything is actually
going great.
Got a new job lined up, and I'm
going back to Corrections.
So things are looking good.
>> What's going on
with the family?
>> We're probably stronger
than we've ever been,
to be honest with you.
>> What about Ashley?
Have you talked to her at all?
>> Things have not changed.
She's still catfishing.
There's still people
coming forward.
All I can say is she is
a sadistic, manipulative,
evil person.
>> So things
with you and Ashley, not good.
>> Pretty much no.
>> That's a bummer
that Ashley hasn't really
changed much.
What can you do?
>> It's good to hear that
you're doing well, Thaddius.
>> Thanks, Max. Thanks, Nev.
>> Bye.
[phone rings]
>> Hey, Sara.
>> Hey.
>> Tell us what's been going
with this whole
crazy Ashley thing.
It's almost gotten worse.
>> I feel like everything
that was said that day
was just bull[bleep],
and I feel so stupid that I gave
her the benefit of the doubt.
>> Wow. Sorry that you're still
going through all this.
>> I thought that she'd stop,
but no.
>> All right.
Well, we got to go.
>> Bye, guys.
>> Okay, bye.
[dramatic music]
*
>> "I've been
in an on-and-off relationship
for almost ten years.
Please help me find out
who this man is."
What the [bleep]?
That is really freaky.
>> I can wake up to, like,
25 to 30, like, missed calls.
>> This guy is torturing her.
>> I just don't get it.
It don't make sense.
>> Let's do it.
1680
00:41:04.
>> This is it right here.
This is it.
This is it. Oh, boy.
There's no turning back now.
Let's do it.
The window is, like,
boarded up with a mattress.
Hello?
All the blinds are closed
in every window.
>> She'll be here eventually.
>> Someone's home.
[dog barks]
Someone's home.
>> This could be
not cool for them.
They might really freak out.
[upbeat music]
[whistle blowing]
[laughter]
We got an email.
It's a long subject.
"I thought I had figured it out,
but being catfished was the tip
of the iceberg." Here we go.
>> "Dear Nev and Max,
my name is Thaddius.
I am a former corrections
officer from Texas."
>> "I was having a lot
of problems at home recently,
and I needed someone to turn to,
but I felt like I could not turn
to anyone I knew.
I needed a stranger's
perspective.
Enter Sara Jackson.
Sara was amazing.
She was able to give me
the advice I needed to hear.
I bared my soul to this girl.
After a month or so,
Sara admitted
to developing feelings for me.
I found myself feeling the same.
At one point,
Sara wanted to meet.
This meeting never happened
because she had a seizure
and had to be rushed
to the hospital.
Not long after,
apparently her ex abducted her,
but she called me the next day
saying she had escaped."
>> Great excuse, Sara.
>> What the hell?
"That is where I had enough.
That's when I had enough.
I decided to look into Sara,
and after hours of searching,
found that her real name
was Ashley.
I kept searching
and came across the real girl
in the pictures who happens
to also be named Sara."
This guy is smart.
"She told me that Ashley
has been doing this for years.
This is not just for me
or the real Sara.
It's also
for her future victims.
Please, help me get answers
and also make it stop."
>> * You're the trouble I want *
* You're my troublemaker *
>> Well, this is an interesting
story.
Here's a guy, Thaddius,
who knows what's up.
The heartache's over.
The mystery is basically solved,
but now it's like
there's a person out there
that's doing a lot
of destruction.
We should stop her.
>> All right. Thaddius.
Let's get him on the horn.
Be on your best behavior.
He is a corrections officer.
>> That's true.
>> Hey.
>> Thaddius.
>> Hey.
>> You have the coolest name
ever.
>> Thank you.
>> Tell us a little bit
about yourself,
where you're from.
Like, give us the story.
>> I'm a former corrections
officer.
>> That seems like
a pretty rough job.
>> It can be.
If you can just do your job the
right way, they'll respect you.
You won't have
too many problems.
>> So we just read your email.
This girl seemed
to really affect you.
What happened?
>> Well, I needed somebody
to talk to because I am married,
but I was planning
on leaving my wife.
>> Do you and your wife
have kids?
>> Yes,
and I don't like a broken home.
I'm from a broken home.
I don't like it, but for
the past two to three years
I have been unhappy.
I didn't want
any friends' advice.
I didn't want my mom,
parents, whoever.
I needed a stranger's view
on it.
I found Sara through the People
You May Know.
I added random people.
Guys, girls--it didn't matter.
Just somebody
who I could talk to.
Sara gave me good advice.
She told me, "You should try
counseling to try
to save your marriage."
When I talked to my wife,
we came to an agreement that,
you know, being separated is
something that we needed to do.
About a week later, Sara
admitted that she started
falling for me.
After about a month or so,
things started getting crazy.
We were supposed to meet.
She called me
before she got on a plane.
She messaged me saying
how excited she was.
She couldn't sit still
in her seat.
About 40 minutes
before being there,
I didn't hear anything from her.
No text, nothing.
It was about 24 hours after
that I finally got ahold of her,
and she told me that she had
a seizure and her mom came
and picked her up and took
her back to Oklahoma City.
She always came up with excuses
why we could not meet.
Stories of kidnapping,
hypothermia.
That's pretty much where I had
the last straw of it all.
I'm wanna figure out
who this real person is.
So I kept doing research,
and I found a profile of Ashley,
and everything that she posted
on her real profile
she also posted
on her fake profile.
>> Plus, you actually
found the girl in the photos.
>> I did.
I messaged the real Sara.
I told her about Ashley
and my wife and everything,
and that's when Sara Marie
told me that Ashley
has been using her pictures
and her name for seven years
as a catfish.
>> Wow.
>> So I figured this
happened to me for a reason.
Maybe this is the reason.
If I can help Sara put a stop
to it, I'm gonna do it.
>> Does your wife
know all about Sara and Ashley
and this whole situation?
>> Yes.
It hurt her that I had moved on
as fast as I did.
I believe this is punishment
for me.
I believe I deserve this,
because she didn't deserve that.
>> So basically,
you feel like a sinner
for having
pursued this relationship
outside of your marriage.
>> Yeah. I feel bad.
>> And out of your own guilt,
you want to expose Ashley?
>> Yes.
I'm hoping, by confronting her,
this will actually stop.
I want to be able
to do something good
out of all this negativity.
>> All right.
Well, if you think this is gonna
help you, I'm down.
We can help you
figure some things out.
We can also help put an end
to this
for lots of other people.
>> Sounds good, man.
Thanks, guys.
>> See you.
>> He is punishing himself...
>> Right.
>> Publicly, in order
to cleanse himself of his sins.
>> He developed feelings
for another woman
while still married,
feels badly about it.
>> There are real stakes here.
>> I got a lot of packing to do.
You go to your room.
>> All right.
>> I'll pack up my room,
and we'll head to Texas.
>> Texas, baby.
>> Here we go.
Another crazy Catfish adventure.
>> * When I look back
* I see trails of myself
>> All right, Thaddius.
We're coming for you.
>> * All that I know
* Is I'm leaving that person *
* Behind
We made it, y'all.
We're meeting him
at an undisclosed location
because he was a corrections
officer.
>> This is some
True Detective [bleep].
>> This sure is.
[doorbell dings]
Hey.
>> Hey.
>> Hey.
>> There he is.
>> How's it going?
>> Wow.
>> Do you guys have a vampire
problem around here?
>> You took it off the wall?
What are you doing, Max?
Get out of here. What is this?
Max turns into
a Christian crusader
against vampires.
All right.
So start at the beginning,
which was at a couple years ago.
Things with you and your wife
started to get a little--
>> I'm not sure if it was really
with her or with myself,
but it kind of put me
into the point
to where it made me
look back on my life
as far as, "Where is this going?
What am I doing?
Why haven't I done the things
that I've always wanted to do?"
For two years, I battled it,
but it got to the point
to where I needed somebody's
perspective from the outside.
So I randomly added probably
about five to ten people
on the People You May Know,
just seeing if somebody
would actually talk to me.
And it was guys, girls.
It wasn't nothing particular
that I was looking for.
But only one messaged me back,
Sara Jackson.
Sara told me, "Tell your wife
how you feel,
but I think even
for the sake of your kids,
y'all need to work things out."
After I told my wife everything,
my wife came clean, "Look,
I've--honestly, I could tell
that you've been unhappy
for the past couple years,
and to be honest with you,
I have been too."
I mean, I later found out that
she didn't want me to see it,
that she was brokenhearted.
I didn't know that she
would cry behind the door.
I guess she thought
that I was too far gone,
that it didn't matter
what she told me.
>> So here you are now.
It's been a few months
of you and your wife sort of
taking some space
from each other
at which point things with Sara
are progressing to the point
where you're trying
to meet up with her.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> But all this drama kind
of starts to happen.
>> After the whole seizure
thing, these stories
even got crazier.
I was on the phone with her.
All of a sudden, she starts
hearing banging on the door,
and she looked,
and she said, "Oh, it's my ex."
I heard glass break.
She's sitting there frightened,
like she's fixing to die.
>> This is crazy, though,
that you're, like, on the phone
with someone as they may
or may not be murdered.
>> I heard cops
in the background.
I heard the radios.
I'm around radios
like that all the time.
All of this went up
until about 4:00 in the morning,
and the phone--the call dropped.
>> You must have felt,
like, totally helpless.
>> I couldn't do anything.
Before this,
she had given me her mom's phone
number for some reason.
I wind up calling her mom.
She didn't answer,
so I left a text message.
"Hey, is Sara okay?"
I called every police department
in the vicinity
of Oklahoma City.
I wind up getting ahold of
the missing persons department.
I mention the name.
No name has came across.
No Sara Jackson.
Not even 20 to 30 minutes later,
her mom said,
"Oh, Sara's in bed.
She looks beat up.
Her lip is busted."
>> You talked to her mom?
>> Not on the phone.
>> Not on the phone.
>> I text.
>> She's putting you
through the wringer.
>> I had enough,
so I reversed Sara's number,
came back with her stepdad,
Donald.
Through Donald,
I found an obituary
that was in Oklahoma,
so I looked at the first female
grandchildren,
and I found Ashley there.
I took Ashley's name,
went on the search engine,
found her profile,
and found that she posts
the exact same things
that she posted
on Sara's profile.
So I took a couple
of Sara Jackson's pictures...
>> Right.
>> And reversed them.
Soon as I did it,
Sara's profile popped up.
>> The real Sara.
>> Yes.
I get to this profile status
that says, "I am being
used again by Ashley.
#Nevhelpme.
#Catfish."
I'm serious.
>> So your sense of justice
was awakened.
>> Right.
Everything that's happened to me
with this catfish,
I believe that I
wholeheartedly deserve it.
>> Why are you whipping yourself
over this stuff?
Like, you already got punished.
Seems like the thing
you really need to do is,
like, do what needs to be done
in regards to the people
who probably need your help
the most--your wife, your kids.
>> We actually have been
trying to work things out,
especially for our kids.
>> So are things
with your wife much better?
>> Yeah.
We're communicating now.
I kept asking my wife, "Do you
think me doing this is crazy?"
She told me, "You've come
this far.
Why not finish
what you started?"
My purpose for this whole thing
is to try to pull something
positive from this negative.
>> What do you have to show us?
Do you have pictures of Ashley?
>> This is all I have of her.
>> This is the current Ashley
profile.
Can we see anything else?
>> That's it.
>> That's it.
She's got one cover photo.
Everything is private.
It's safe to assume that this is
something Ashley's very good at,
the other characters,
someone breaking into the house.
>> Breaking glass.
>> Her getting kidnapped.
>> She is making an art of this.
>> Yeah.
There's so many guys
that have been victims,
and how many
more is going to be victims?
What if this goes
beyond catfishing one day?
>> Right.
>> And she can actually steal
people's identities?
>> Right.
Who knows what this game--
her game could be?
>> Send us all that information.
Put it in an email.
>> Sounds good.
>> Good to meet you.
>> You too, man.
>> Hang in there.
All right.
I wasn't totally convinced
before we got there
what this guy's motives were,
but now that I've heard
how dire things were,
I get why he now
feels more of an obligation.
>> This girl knew he had
a family.
His whole life could've been
ruined.
[upbeat music]
>> Nice.
>> This place is cool.
>> Hey, guys.
Oh, no. What happened?
>> A boy.
He squeezed my hand,
and it popped out of place.
>> What boy?
>> A boy? On--like, on a date?
Squeezed your hand?
>> No. No, no, no, no.
>> After we're done figuring out
who this catfish is,
we're gonna find this guy
and kick his ass.
>> Okay.
>> We've got
an interesting story here.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Thaddius,
who's married with kids,
struggling in his relationship
with his wife, ends up talking
to this girl, Sara Jackson.
Not too far into it,
he starts feeling for her.
She admits she's feeling things
for him.
They make a whole plan to meet.
It doesn't happen, so--
>> He decides to take matters
into his own hands.
>> So he figures out,
at least he thinks, who the real
girl he's been talking to is.
This girl, Ashley.
He also thinks he finds the girl
in the pictures, Sara Marie.
Now what he wants to do
is confront Ashley
and encourage her to stop
for her own good
and for the well-being
of others as well.
All right, Max.
You ready? Here we go.
We got an email from Thaddius.
"Here's the information
on what I have from my research.
The real girl I believe was
behind the fake profile
is Ashley [bleep].
The other victims I'm aware of
are Joe, Marcus, Cory.
The girl in the pictures
is Sara Marie.
Facebook URL." Bingo.
Here's the real girl,
Sara Marie.
This definitely feels
like a legit profile.
Why don't we just
send her a message?
>> Yeah.
>> Just to get that
out of the way.
"Hey, Sara.
I'm in Texas with Thaddius,
who you spoke with recently.
He got catfished
by someone using your photos.
Don't take this the wrong way,
but we need to be sure you
are the real Sara Marie.
>> Send.
>> So now, let's reach out
to the other dudes
who got catfished by Ashley.
Marcus. Bam. Sent.
Sending the same message
to Cory.
Let's send this guy a message.
"Hey, Joe." All right.
We're putting out
some feelers, Max.
Let's see how these guys
get back to us
and if they know anything
that we don't already
know about Ashley.
Let's look up Ashley.
Let's just search her
and see what comes up.
>> Whoa.
Oh, boy.
Larceny of merchandise.
>> Oh, boy.
>> 6'1"?
>> This woman will crush me.
[laughter]
>> Let's go to the other one.
That's June 2014.
>> Different date.
>> Larceny again.
>> Question is did
she go to jail or not?
Because if she's in jail,
how's she doing this?
Look at this. Oklahoma City.
>> All right, we got an address.
>> We got an address.
So this is great,
because this could be an actual
house that we can show up at--
[phone rings]
Oh, my God.
>> Oh, we're getting a call.
>> From Florida.
Hello?
>> Or Joe, right?
We're actually
making an episode right now.
I'm sitting here with Max.
Say hi, Max.
>> Hi, Max.
>> So what can you tell me
about Sara Jackson?
>> And did you guys
ever make plans to meet up?
>> What happened?
>> Did she have seizures?
>> Did she ever get kidnapped?
>> And then how did it end?
>> Did she say why she did it?
>> Thank you for helping us.
>> Bye, Joe.
The same story.
>> I know.
Whatever she's doing,
she's doing it really well
and has been doing it
for a long time.
[computer beeps]
Oh, we got a message back.
Sara Marie.
"Skype is easier for me.
I can Skype now
if you're available."
Let's get her on Skype.
[computer beeping]
Hello.
>> Sara.
>> It's really you.
>> It's really me.
>> You obviously know
why we're calling because...
>> Yeah.
>> Your face
and pictures of you have been
used now for a while.
>> I think it's gone on for
about, like, seven years now.
At this point,
I don't think she realizes
that I am a real person.
I confronted her.
She knows that I know.
She's told me
she was gonna stop.
She clearly hasn't stopped.
I just want to stand in front
of her and have her look at me
for, like, two minutes
and realize, "Oh, my gosh.
This is a real person."
>> Well, what we're starting
to realize here
is that this girl is leaving
a real wake of destruction.
>> Yeah.
>> So I think it
would be good for her
that we get as many people
that she's messed with
in front of her to, like,
help her understand that what
she's doing is really messed up.
>> Like an intervention.
>> We're here in Texas
with Thaddius.
>> Okay.
>> We're not that from Oklahoma,
so you could meet us here,
and then we could go
all together.
>> Road trip.
>> We know where she lives.
So at the very least,
we can drive there.
>> I don't know.
I'm--I'm kind of scared.
I'm not gonna lie.
>> Who better to confront Ashley
than the girl
who she's been imitating?
>> I'm scared, but let's do it.
>> Sara, we will see
you really soon.
>> All right, guys.
>> Bye.
>> Bye.
>> See you when you get here.
>> We've got proof
from the real Sara.
We've got our girl.
We know where she lives.
The only thing we don't know
is what's gonna happen
when we get there.
[knock at door]
>> All right.
Last night, I called Thaddius.
I just wanted to check in
with him to make sure
he was cool with Sara coming,
because it's gonna
be a little weird.
He's had a crush on her pictures
for a while,
and things with his wife
are getting better.
He said he was thrilled
that she's coming.
>> Let's be honest.
It's just another body
in the body count when--
once we get to Ashley.
>> That's true.
[phone vibrates]
>> I just got a text from Sara.
She said, "Hey,
I'm just a few minutes away."
>> All right.
Let's do it.
I think that's her.
>> What?
Sara.
>> There she is.
Hi.
>> Hi, how are you?
>> Good, how are you?
>> Nice to meet you.
>> Welcome to Texas.
>> Thank you.
>> The plan is we're gonna
go over to meet Thad.
>> Okay.
Oh, my gosh. This is crazy.
>> This could be an opportunity,
finally, for you to sort of
set the record straight.
>> Yeah. I've found a handful
of guys, and they have found me,
but I know there's more people
out there
that think they've talked to me.
I'm so nervous right now.
>> Weird, because,
like, usually the person who's
nervous to meet is
the hopeful meeting the catfish.
But you're now the real person
meeting the hopeful,
and it's like you're worried.
>> I'm just--
>> He's probably more nervous
than anyone.
>> Yeah, I bet.
>> Hey.
>> What's going on, Nev?
>> Sara.
>> Hi, Sara.
>> Hi. Nice to meet you.
>> Thaddius.
>> Nice to meet you too.
>> Max you know.
Let's go inside.
>> Here we are.
>> Okay.
>> [laughs]
Like, this is so awkward.
>> What is it?
Is it--is it weird?
>> It's definitely awkward.
>> It is awkward.
It's awkward for me to meet her
'cause she was not
who I was talking to.
>> Can we hear
why it's awkward for you?
>> Just having countless guys
find you and think
that they were in love with--
it's just the weirdest.
It's awkward.
>> Yeah.
>> Why don't you give us
your whole side of the story?
>> Okay.
I'm not sure
how long it's gone on for.
It first came to my attention
back in 2010.
I received an email
from a guy named Sam.
"Hey, Sara, I have wasted
almost a year of my life
talking to a girl
that claims she is you.
Can you help me clarify
who you are?"
So I was quick to write my URL
on a piece of paper
and take a picture of it.
Sam emailed me back.
"I can't believe this.
Thanks for taking those photos.
I feel like a fool."
We exchange phone numbers,
and I type it in my phone.
Then, I would say probably
about three years later,
I get a friend request
from a guy named Joe.
And Joe was in a relationship
with me,
and I thought that was
the weirdest thing ever.
I'm like,
"Who is this guy in Florida
that thinks he's dating me?"
So me and Joe
start going back and forth,
and I explained to him,
"This girl's been
impersonating me,
and I want some information
on her."
Like, you know,
"Where does she live?
I want her phone number."
He gives me the phone number.
I type it in my phone,
and it's saved under Sam.
She was pretending to be Sam
to try to get my photos.
>> Wow.
>> I was like, "Whoa.
I just got played."
>> This was actually Ashley
behind this Sam profile.
>> That's sick.
>> Why? Why?
>> At that point,
Joe sent me this picture.
>> She is manipulating you
to take a picture.
>> And write
whatever she wants on it.
>> She photoshopped
the social media accounts.
>> Pretty good job.
I mean, like, the angle and--
>> So creepy.
>> I mean, that would--
if I was asking for evidence
about something
and she sent me that, I would--
>> Really?
>> I would buy it.
>> It's gotten to the point
where
I've had everything private
and she still gets in there.
She has pictures
that I posted up.
Like, my friends
have posted of me.
Like, she's deep into this.
>> Yeah.
>> And I'm telling you hundreds.
I'm not even--
I'm not saying just a couple.
I mean hundreds
of photos of you.
>> It's so much deeper than her
just taking my photos.
It's my sister and my niece.
>> 11 years old? 12 years old?
>> Yeah. 12. Oh, my God.
That's so crazy
that she knows that.
See? That's--
>> Like, honestly, Sara,
I think she believes that she
is you when she talks to people.
>> I sometimes think that too,
but then at the same time,
I don't think
she thinks I'm a real person.
>> I think
that she uses that persona
to either run away from her life
or what's going on.
I don't know,
but this is ridiculous.
>> Yeah.
>> All right, so we
did some research yesterday.
So we started here.
We just did
a basic Google search,
and the first, like,
couple things
that show up
include arrest record.
She's been arrested twice,
and it says "larceny
of merchandise."
>> This is crazy.
>> Crazy.
We looked up her name.
It actually came back
with an address,
and it looks pretty current.
>> I say we go confront her.
Ask the questions. Why?
>> We got her number,
so we should call her.
[phone line rings]
>> At the tone,
please record your message.
[phone beeps]
>> Hello, Ashley.
This is Nev
from the MTV show, Catfish.
I have some questions, so give
me a call back and hopefully
we will speak soon.
Thanks.
Now, we wait.
>> What happens
if she doesn't contact?
>> We have her address.
>> We know where she lives.
>> We should just go.
>> If I were her, really.
>> I would run.
>> Whoo.
>> And we're back.
So here we are.
Ashley never replied back
or called back,
so we came to the conclusion
of just showing up at her place.
I don't know what's going to
happen, to be honest with you.
I've come this far, though.
I'm not gonna give up just yet.
>> OKC.
>> She didn't get back to us,
so there's nothing left to do
but to just go.
>> You guys ready?
>> I'm ready.
>> Yeah.
>> Yo.
>> All right. Let's do it.
Come on.
>> * One step forward
* Step right back
>> Oklahoma City.
126 miles.
>> I never thought
this would happen.
>> * Run for the hills
* Run for the hills, run
>> I am so nervous.
>> You've been tortured by
this woman for almost a decade.
>> My hands are sweating a lot.
>> Thad, how do you feel?
>> I have a lot of guilt
as far as my wife and my family.
That's what led up
to this whole...
>> Right.
>> Ordeal, so...
>> Can I just say something?
You have a lot of guilt,
but you're actually, like,
pretty effective
at acting anyway.
People who are crippled by guilt
certainly wouldn't have written
into a TV show
in which they went on camera
and talked about the things
they were guilty of.
You're actually a lot
stronger than you think you are.
>> I mean,
after all this, yeah.
I--I've realized that.
I feel good.
>> Why are you feeling good now?
>> 'Cause I'm doing something.
>> You're breaking free
from the guilt.
>> That's exactly what it is.
>> Okay, we're here
at our exit.
Oh, wow. This is her street?
>> That's it right there.
>> This is it right here.
This is it. This is it.
>> God, I'm so nervous
right now.
>> I'm actually pretty calm.
>> How are you calming yourself?
>> I think because I've pictured
this moment
of just getting in her face.
Just saying, "Look, this is me."
>> Oh, God.
>> "Here we are."
>> Well, let's consider
for a minute that, like,
this girl, Ashley, or this woman
or this whoever it is,
they might really freak out.
Like, this could be
not cool for them.
>> Yeah.
>> And just the fact
that they now know
we're making a show
about them probably--
>> It's pretty scary.
>> It's freaking them out.
All right, sunglasses are off.
>> All right, guys.
Everybody ready to do this?
>> There's no turning back now.
Let's do it.
>> Let's do it.
>> Let's do this.
[suspenseful music]
*
>> Holy [bleep].
The window is, like,
boarded up with a mattress.
>> She mentioned that.
>> She mentioned that?
>> She mentioned how something
was blocking the windows.
[dog barking]
>> Hello?
[dog barking]
>> Oh, my gosh.
[dog barking]
>> Hello?
>> All the blinds
are closed in every window.
And, like, this window's
like covered.
[suspenseful music]
[dog barking]
*
>> Someone's home.
I mean, there's a car here.
>> Someone's home.
>> The air conditioning.
>> Maybe they just stepped out
for, like, a minute?
[knock at door]
>> The light aren't--
are not on.
>> I feel like she's probably
hiding out somewhere.
>> That's why we should talk
to a neighbor.
You know your neighbor, Ashley?
>> No.
>> Oh, you don't know her?
>> No.
>> Oh, okay.
>> I told you I didn't think
she was gonna be here.
>> She'll be here, though.
Eventually.
[knock at door]
[dramatic music]
*
[knock at door]
>> Hello.
>> Hello.
>> Hey, how you doing?
>> I'm doing good.
>> What's your name?
>> My name's Haniv.
>> Haniv? Wow,
that's like my name.
My name's Yaniv.
>> Oh, okay.
>> I'm not sure
if you know anything
about a TV show called Catfish.
>> I've heard of it.
>> Cool.
I make that show,
and I've got my crew here.
>> Okay.
>> We're actually looking
for someone
who lives across the street,
Ashley.
Ever heard or seen anything kind
of weird going on over there?
>> Just occasionally,
I'll hear someone hollering.
>> Oh, like, some yelling?
>> Yeah.
And it'll come outside
on the front lawn.
>> A guy and a girl?
>> It'll be a--sometimes
a girl hollering at a guy
or a guy hollering at a girl.
>> Is it the large--
is Ashley that larger woman?
>> She's one of 'em.
>> One of 'em.
But sometimes,
there's other--another woman?
>> Yes.
>> Thanks.
>> All right. No problem.
>> He doesn't know them, but he
definitely knows there's a woman
that stays there.
But also a couple other people,
and sometimes they yell
at each other.
And sometimes it's Ashley
and a guy.
Sometimes she's yelling at him.
Sometimes he's yelling at her.
>> Well, that could be
the ex-boyfriend or--
>> That's what I'm thinking.
Or the--
>> Right. The violent--
Yeah.
>> Let's get back to the hotel
and regroup and figure
out what's next.
>> * Sticking to your guns
* Always
>> There's not much else we can
do right now other than just--
>> Wait for her?
>> Lurk around the corners?
>> * The sooner it comes
* Oh, the sooner it's gone *
[phone beeps]
>> I just got a text
from Ashley.
"I'm mind blown you came
to my house with Catfish.
Really?"
So it looks like
I have struck a nerve.
>> * Call off the hunt
*
[phone rings]
>> Hey, what's up?
How about you sleep on it?
[phone beeps]
>> Okay.
So Ashley just texted me.
She said, "I'll do it,"
and then she sent me an address.
It's her friend's house.
We'll see what tomorrow brings,
and I'll see you guys
in the morning.
>> The sophistication level
with which this person's been
manipulating multiple people
suggests that this story
may not be as cut-and-dry
as it now appears to be.
>> I can't imagine it
getting any weirder.
>> Famous last words.
>> This is the little street
we're turning on, guys.
We're close.
>> Oh, my God.
Oh, [bleep].
>> 6-0-7.
That's 6-0-9 there.
This is it, guys.
Oh, boy.
[suspenseful music]
*
>> You know where you feel like
I just got the air
knocked out of me.
Are we seriously doing this?
Oh, my God.
*
I don't even want to look.
>> Hi.
>> Hi. Nice to meet you.
>> Nev.
>> I'm Ashley.
>> I have some people here
obviously are eager to meet you.
*
>> Hi, Thad.
>> Hello.
>> Sara.
>> Hi.
>> Just to be clear,
you are the one who's been
using Sara's pictures--
>> Sara's pictures. Yes.
>> Do you have any remorse
whatsoever?
>> Well, yeah. I mean, obviously
I've told you a lot of lies,
and I apologize for that.
Honestly.
>> Can you tell us a little bit
about yourself?
We don't know
what's true or not true, or--
>> Right. I have a daughter.
>> How old is your daughter?
>> She's four.
>> Are you working right now,
or--
>> No. I'm a stay-at-home mom
right now.
>> Had you been arrested?
We found something that, like--
>> Last year--last summer, yes.
I had been arrested.
That's not really something
I want to go too much into.
>> You started using
Sara's pictures,
like, eight years ago.
>> Mm-hmm.
>> What happened
eight years ago?
>> The first thing that happened
would've been I was engaged,
and I was supposed
to be married within two days.
He called me and told me,
basically,
"We're not getting married.
There's a girl that I've been
cheating on you with.
She's pregnant, and she
and I are going to get married."
So at the time,
I let myself get really,
really down about it.
>> It makes me sad
to hear you say that.
I sympathize with you,
but at the same time,
I have my own issues, you know,
and I don't run out and steal
someone's identity and--
>> You're right.
>> To me,
it just sounds like an excuse.
>> I understand that it--it most
definitely sounds like that,
and I can't--
I can't blame you
for feeling that way.
>> What's weird to me
is that you--you got burned.
I mean,
what happened with your fiancé.
That's messed up.
Why put yourself in a situation
where you enter a cycle
of you then, in turn,
hurting all of these other guys?
>> I didn't want
to hurt anybody.
>> But you have.
>> Yeah.
You've hurt a lot of people.
And--and they've told you
that you hurt them,
and you just keep going.
You find new people to hurt.
We've talked about this before.
I caught you.
>> Right.
>> You told me you'd stop.
Then you saw my pictures with my
niece, and you decided
that that would be okay to use.
How do you think
that makes me feel?
Totally violated,
and that's not even my kid.
>> You're right.
>> It's almost like you
literally are trying
to take my life and,
like, pretend it's yours.
>> There's no excuse
for any of those things.
>> What makes you say, "Okay,
I'm gonna come up with a story.
Tell him I'm being kidnapped."
You go so far with your stories.
I mean,
you get down to the detail.
You use these fake numbers
to pretend that you're your mom.
>> When you got kidnapped,
were you banging on the windows
and making a ruckus?
>> The police noises
and all that was just something
that was on YouTube.
>> After the first time
you pulled some crazy ass story
with a dude, why would you
go find another dude?
Like,
you know how it's gonna end.
They're gonna want to meet you
and you're not gonna meet them.
>> Honestly, I don't know.
I don't know the point.
The whole purpose
of this is for this to stop.
>> It needs to stop.
>> Let's take a break, and then
we'll chat a little bit more.
>> All right.
[dramatic music]
*
>> I just don't believe her
when she says she's gonna stop.
>> I don't believe her either,
to be honest with you.
I mean, I see her face.
I see her talking, but honestly?
I don't even
sympathize with her,
because I don't know
if it's true.
I think she feels like she wants
to stop now because we're here,
but as soon as we pull away,
her mind's gonna
get back in that set.
>> She's said all of this to me
before, you know?
>> Right.
>> Until she fully gets it,
then,
I don't think she's going--
>> Going to stop.
>> Right. 'Cause how could she?
She doesn't understand
what the problem is.
>> This episode of Catfish:
The TV Show continues now.
>> I'm gonna go talk to her.
>> Good luck.
[suspenseful music]
*
>> Hey.
>> How you doing?
>> A little overwhelmed.
>> Thaddius and Sara
both feel very...uncertain
that this particular event
will actually alter
your choices moving forward.
So the big concern is,
like, what will actually make
you stop?
>> I am definitely very
remorseful for this.
I don't--I don't show it
a whole lot because I--
I guess I feel
like if I let that show,
that makes
me even more vulnerable.
I think it's just
been a vicious cycle.
It was easier to keep up
what I was doing
rather than admit to myself
what the actual problems were.
>> Tell this to them, 'cause
that's what they need to hear.
[dramatic music]
*
Now's a chance to just be you.
>> All right.
>> And show us that,
like, you can do that,
hopefully, in the future.
So that they don't have
to worry, like, "Oh, man.
She's just gonna keep going back
to the old ways."
>> Yeah.
I guess,
mostly, this has been a way
of not owning up
to my own problems.
If I create a fake profile
and can be whoever I want to be,
I don't have to really face
who I really am.
Most of my life,
I have had a weight problem,
and I wish I could be someone
almost completely different
most of the time.
I am lonely 90% of the time.
That's not necessarily
anyone's fault but my own.
I have closed myself off
for so long,
but I do struggle all the time
with just feeling
like nobody really cares.
[somber music]
[sniffles]
*
>> Sara,
you seem pretty emotional.
>> I don't know.
I just--I don't want to talk.
I need a minute, okay?
Just, like, for a second.
I don't want
to cry on the camera.
[sniffles]
>> How do you feel?
>> I'm sorry for getting up
like that.
I just--I don't want
to make it about me.
It's not about me at all.
But, like, it's hard for me
to sit there and listen.
Like, to hear her talk
about her weight.
It makes me sad, because I
struggled with similar things.
I know we look
like two different people,
but I just want to tell her,
like, "I know how you feel."
[sighs]
>> Why don't you tell her?
>> She's probably looking at me
like, "Are you [bleep] kidding
me? What do you have
to worry about?"
>> But that's my point
is that if she learns
that it's universal in that,
like, everyone thinks that way.
It's just some--
>> Like, she's not alone.
>> She's not alone.
Forgive me, but,
like, you caught Thaddius
at a really vulnerable moment
in his life,
and you did nearly end
his marriage.
I mean, his marriage
had problems, but,
like, he almost, you know,
threw in the towel.
Thad, do you want
to explain that to her?
>> You knew that I was
in a dark place
as far as
I didn't know who I was.
You caught me at that time.
>> I should've thought about
those things, and that was--
it was a stupid, selfish thing
not to think about those things.
Maybe I just didn't want
to face it.
>> Sara.
>> I don't want
to talk about it.
I'm not trying to be difficult.
I just--I don't want to--
this is not about me.
[sniffles]
But don't feel
like you're not enough.
So just--
you deserve it just as much
as anybody else does.
>> Even the girl whose life
you've been pretending
to lead for the last eight years
has dealt with similar things
to what you're dealing with.
>> That's definitely not
something I would've ever
realized or known.
>> I'm not here to make
you feel bad about yourself.
>> You've done that...already.
We're here to help you try
to make yourself feel better
about yourself.
>> You know the kind of person
I am.
You know that I try to find
the good in every situation.
So I just wanted to tell
you just be yourself.
There's a lot of people
out there that care.
You just got to give
'em a chance.
>> Here's an example of what can
happen when you face your fears,
and then all of a sudden,
it's not so scary, and...
things start getting better.
>> Yeah.
I-I wish this had happened
sooner.
I just got to prove to you
that this is done...
no matter what I have to do
to make that happen.
>> Why don't we say good-bye?
>> Thanks.
>> Good luck with everything.
>> Thanks. You too.
And I appreciate it
more than you probably realize.
>> See you.
>> * This is the moment
* When you come up for air
>> Max, thank you for saying
what you said.
I know that she
needed to hear that,
but I wouldn't have been
able to say that.
>> I feel like a real weight
has been lifted
off of your shoulders.
>> It has.
>> And I feel like you can now
really move on from the guilt
that you've felt
and the sort of punishment
you've put yourself through.
>> I have never--I haven't felt
this good in a long time.
>> You went from Thaddius
to Raddius.
[laughter]
>> * That makes you feel alive
[phone rings]
>> Yo.
>> Hey.
>> What's up, bud?
>> Everything is actually
going great.
Got a new job lined up, and I'm
going back to Corrections.
So things are looking good.
>> What's going on
with the family?
>> We're probably stronger
than we've ever been,
to be honest with you.
>> What about Ashley?
Have you talked to her at all?
>> Things have not changed.
She's still catfishing.
There's still people
coming forward.
All I can say is she is
a sadistic, manipulative,
evil person.
>> So things
with you and Ashley, not good.
>> Pretty much no.
>> That's a bummer
that Ashley hasn't really
changed much.
What can you do?
>> It's good to hear that
you're doing well, Thaddius.
>> Thanks, Max. Thanks, Nev.
>> Bye.
[phone rings]
>> Hey, Sara.
>> Hey.
>> Tell us what's been going
with this whole
crazy Ashley thing.
It's almost gotten worse.
>> I feel like everything
that was said that day
was just bull[bleep],
and I feel so stupid that I gave
her the benefit of the doubt.
>> Wow. Sorry that you're still
going through all this.
>> I thought that she'd stop,
but no.
>> All right.
Well, we got to go.
>> Bye, guys.
>> Okay, bye.
[dramatic music]
*
>> "I've been
in an on-and-off relationship
for almost ten years.
Please help me find out
who this man is."
What the [bleep]?
That is really freaky.
>> I can wake up to, like,
25 to 30, like, missed calls.
>> This guy is torturing her.
>> I just don't get it.
It don't make sense.
>> Let's do it.
1680
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