Catfish: The TV Show (2012–…): Season 5, Episode 11 - Paris & Tara - full transcript
Paris enlists Nev and Max to help her figure out who has been catfishing her for the past four years. But as the guys investigate, they make a shocking discovery that casts suspicion onto Paris herself!
- You already know
that Tara has lied to you.
- Yeah.
- What?
- So now we have a new suspect:
the victim.
- What the hell is going on?
- She doesn'’t seem like someone
that would whip up
so much drama.
- Now I don'’t know
who to trust.
- If there'’s anything
you want to tell us right now,
let us know.
[suspenseful music]
I think I'’m getting
your sickness.
You'’re sniffling, and I already
feel it behind my eyes.
- I'’m actually a little worried
that this is getting to be
a little bit more serious
than just a cold.
I'’ve got, like,
this weird growth...
in my, like, back.
Do you see that?
- [laughs] Oh, my God.
- Do you see that?
- What'’s going on here?
- I don'’t know.
What is it?
[both yelling]
- [screaming]
- Oh, my God!
[both screaming]
- Eeeeh!
- Now it'’s time
to catch a real catfish.
- I'’m ready
to dive in if you are.
- Okay, here we go.
We got an email.
Paris.
- Paris.
- [with French accent]
My name is Paris.
I am 25, and I live
right outside Chicago.
[laughter]
All right, "Dear Nev and Max,
my name is Paris.
I am 25 and live right outside
Chicago, Illinois."
- ♪ Hey
- "A little over
four years ago,
"I met Tara in a chat room.
She was unlike anyone
I had ever met."
- ♪ Never knew lovin'’
could hurt this good ♪
- "I felt loved,
and I felt heard,
"which made it easy
for me to love her in return.
I was crazy about her
in every way."
- ♪ Drives me wild
- "After a while, I started
to suggest that we meet up."
♪ Wild, wild, wild
- ♪ Hey!
- "But before we could,
Tara had an accident."
What kind of accident
did she have?
"I was scared because
I couldn'’t talk to her,
"and I thought
I was losing someone
"who had meant so much to me.
"After that,
there were always excuses
"to never video chat
or meet up.
"Thinking that this would be
the last I heard from her,
"I carried on with my life.
"Now two years later, Tara
has found her way back to me.
"I was so suspicious
about her resurfacing
"that I decided to steal a trick
from your playbook.
"I image-searched her photos,
"and they led back
to a girl in New Jersey.
"I have no idea
what to make of this.
"Tara has been
in and out of my life,
"and every time, I am that much
more confused and frustrated.
Please help."
All right, well, let'’s get her
on the phone here and see.
[computer beeping]
Hi.
- Paris.
- Hi, how are you?
- Bonjour.
[laughter]
How'’s Chicago?
- Pretty solid.
-And what do you do?
- I work as a licensed
massage therapist.
- Whoa. Cool.
- Wow.
So you'’re like
the perfect girlfriend.
Why don'’t you tell us
a little bit more
about how this all started?
- I used chat rooms as, like,
a platform to, like,
you know, meet people
when I was younger.
This one day, I was sitting
in the room.
We were voice chatting,
actually,
and Tara heard my voice.
"What are you up to?"
And she PM'’d me.
The more you talk, the more
you feel, so the feelings grew.
- I'’m excited to talk to you.
- [laughs] You'’re cute.
I was in love,
and I found something
that was so real to me.
She seemed to be
so much like me.
It was just natural.
- And you now already know
that she might not be
the girl in the picture
she'’s been sending you.
- Yeah, I was curious,
and I was just like,
"Okay, I'’m going
to take this picture
that she sent me, and I'’m going
to reverse-search it."
And when I did,
I found a Facebook page
with someone else'’s name,
and I was like, "This is just
not making sense."
- Maybe there'’s a chance
we can figure out who she is.
- You guys can find the answer
if I can'’t,
and I know that, you know,
the truth will come out.
Then maybe one day,
we'’ll come around to it
and we'’ll be
exactly what we hoped to be.
- All right, so sit tight.
- We'’re going
to jump on a plane.
- Au revoir.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- She'’s cool.
All right,
we'’re going to Paris.
- All right, let'’s go.
- Let'’s do it.
It'’s all we need,
is this little guy.
[upbeat music]
♪
- Don'’t hurt yourself.
- Someone'’s got to do it.
This is not what I imagined
Paris would look like.
- Paris is the person
that we'’re going to see.
- Oh, here'’s the house.
Okay. Let'’s do this.
- Hey.
- Hello.
- How are you?
- What'’s up?
Hi. Hi.
- Come on in.
- All right.
Tell us the story of Tara.
- Well, I actually started,
you know, going
into the chat room, you know,
just as a way to meet people
that were bi and lesbian.
You know, I was looking
for that group.
And Tara actually,
she was like, "Hey."
- "Hey."
- Yeah, literally,
just "hey"
and then, you know...
- Modern romance.
- Love at first "hey"
kind of thing.
[both laugh]
It was really intense.
Like, we talked
almost every day,
completely smitten.
It was love.
- But then things changed.
- After so many times
of, like, "Hey, let'’s meet,"
she got into an accident.
- Like a car accident?
- Well, that was when, like,
the variety of excuses started.
"Oh, I can'’t talk to you,
because I suffered some type
of injury to my brain."
It was like it was always
the excuse was
"my head is broken"
kind of thing.
And I was just like,
"Okay, whatever."
- But you genuinely love her.
- Yeah, like, I have, like,
a legit bond with her.
I'’ve shared things with her
that I wasn'’t so comfortable
with telling people
that I lives with,
little things in my life,
the stuff that I was going
through with, you know, college
and, you know, and being
faced with the whole thing
of coming out.
- You'’ve used the Internet
to really kind of express
your sexuality.
- Yeah, I would say that.
- Has it ever occurred to you
that maybe Tara is someone else
in the chat room?
- You know,
there were two people.
The first one, Nicole,
we were friends
for a few months,
and then we dated.
- In person.
- Mm-hmm.
- And how was that?
Like, what was
that relationship like?
- It was really good,
like, you know,
the whole honeymoon phase,
and then she just didn'’t like
the fact that I was bi.
'’Cause she was full-on lesbian.
She hated that, and me and her
broke up on bad terms.
There was another girl
after that, Mary.
She was maybe four years olderthan me.
We started off as friends.
Then we dated.
- Where does she live?
- Originally Mississippi,
and then she actually came here.
- So she moved here?
- Yeah.
- To be with you.
- Yeah, she came with her mom
and her 5-year-old son.
- Did they get their own place?
- That was the plan.
You know, she told me
she had the whole list of plans
that she would do,
but when she got here,
she had no plan at all.
There was some sense
of responsibility there
to help her in that sense,
but, you know, I knew
when she got here
that she was going
to be a big mess.
- Wow. How did that end?
- I told her, like, you know,
"This is too much for me."
The responsibility
is not, you know,
one that I initially thought
that I would have
to be a part of,
and it kind of, like, went
a little bit nutty on me.
Yeah, that situation
kind of ended badly as well.
- Is she still
in your life at all?
- No, I don'’t know
where she is, actually.
One time, Tara
and Mary actually,
they messaged each other
at one point.
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
Like, Mary messaged her
and was like,
"Oh, don'’t talk to her.
You know, that would be
bad news for you."
You know, pretty much tried
to, like, taint who I was.
- This girl sounds like
she'’s definitely
not above inventing
a new profile,
pretending to be someone else
in the chat room.
- Right.
- Well, this is
an interesting case.
You already know that Tara
has lied to you.
- Yeah.
- Because you found pictures.
Why don'’t we go onto your laptop
and you can actually show us
all the stuff that you found?
- Okay.
- Cool.
Let'’s check out
what we'’re dealing with here.
Okay, so you found
this Dana profile.
- Mm-hmm.
- So this is who you believed
you were in a relationship with
for, like, three years.
- Yeah.
- Of the possible people
that could be catfishing you,
we'’ve got Mary,
who moved here from Mississippi,
and then we'’ve got Nicole,
your ex-girlfriend.
- Yep.
- Now, what'’s the story
with her?
- Well, we dated,
and it got pretty intense
for a little bit,
but I met someone
in massage school,
and we became, you know,
really good friends,
best friends, actually,
and she was always skeptical
that I was
messing around with him
just because we were
so good of friends.
- A guy?
- Yeah.
She kind of like, became
like a danger.
Like, she would throw stuff,
do extra-crazy stuff.
- Oh, she became, like, violent.
- That'’s pretty intense.
- Then the miscommunication
kind of caused us to break up.
- So she'’s obviously
a prime suspect.
- Right.
- Mm-hmm.
- You'’ve lived
a very colorful life online
the past five years.
You'’ve had real girlfriends
that have kind of
gone bonkers on you
and potentially could now
be trying to get back at you.
- It could be anybody.
- Essentially, yeah.
- You'’re also kind of amazingly
willing to keep an open mind.
And if and when we meet Tara
or whatever her name is,
the person
you'’ve been talking to,
maybe there could be
some kind of relationship,
because you still
have a connection with her.
- Yeah, I do have love
for her
and who she actually is,
aside from all this.
- All right, well, look,
we'’ve got a lot to look through.
We'’ll see what we can find.
- All right, sounds good.
- How is this girl--
like, she doesn'’t seem
like someone
that would whip up
so much drama.
- I know.
- Until we identify
who'’s doing this to her, like,
she won'’t be able
to trust anyone
she meets in the future,
especially on the Internet.
[upbeat music]
♪
- What can I get for you?
- What can you get for me?
- Is that the cinnamon scone?
- Yes.
- One of those, please.
- Can I have a tea?
- Okay.
- Okay.
- A little bit of this doughnut.
- All right, "Paris and Tara."
- All right.
So Paris has had
an interesting social media
online relationship history.
- She started going
on this chat group.
She met a girl on there
named Tara.
- Right.
They got really close.
Then things started to get
a little strained between them,
because Tara had
these accidents and--
- She hit her head,
and she couldn'’t
talk on the phone,
because her head was broken.
- And Paris,
knowing what excuses look like,
started to kind of
get tired of them.
What does Paris do?
She image-searches
one of the pictures
hat Tara sends her
and boom, finds
a social media profile
for some other girl
named Dana.
Here we go.
Look, here'’s the email.
"Here'’s the information
I have for Tara.
"Her name is Tara [bleep],
"and I have no social media,
just her Yahoo user name,
"two phone numbers,
and four photos,
which I have attached
to this email."
She also said, "Here'’s
the Facebook link
"to my ex Mary.
"I'’m not allowed to say anything
since she blocked me,
but hopefully you guys
will have better luck."
And "Finally, I don'’t have
much information
for my ex-girlfriend Nicole,
"but I have her email address.
Good luck, guys."
So we don'’t have to prove
that Tara is or isn'’t real,
because we already know
that she'’s not the girl
in the pictures,
so that saves us some time.
- The real question is,
who is Tara?
- Could she be one
of these exes,
or is she someone
entirely different?
All right, here we go, Max.
Okay, let'’s look
at Dana'’s profile.
- That'’s the mask.
- Yeah, that'’s the girl
in the pictures.
All right,
so here'’s Dana'’s page.
So why don'’t we send Dana
a message?
- Yeah.
- "Hey, Dana, it'’s Nev and Max
with the MTV show '’Catfish.'’
"We'’re doing an episode now
and think somebody might be
"using your picture
to talk to somebody.
"We would love to video chat
with you if you have a minute.
Thanks!"
- We'’ve got two
phone numbers for Tara.
Let'’s run the numbers.
- Run the numbers.
All right, I'’m running
Tara'’s old phone number.
Here we go.
What'’s this?
It says it'’s
a landline from Chicago,
so there'’s nothing there.
- Well, she was textingwith it,
so we actually know that'’s
like a texting app number.
Shady.
- Yeah.
All right, let'’s try
the current number.
- Oh.
- Oh, we got something.
- Mary. Mary.
- Mary [bleep].
- Wait, is that
for the correct number?
It'’s not.
- Oh.
Okay, that doesn'’t help.
- Okay, so suspects.
There was Nicole, who was
a real-life girlfriend.
- Right. Things with Nicole
did not end well.
- We'’ve got an email address
for Nicole.
- Yeah.
- Let'’s look that up.
- Nothing comes up for Nicole.
I think we need
to reach out to Nicole.
"This is Nev and Max
from Catfish.
"We are filming an episode now
and could use your help.
If you could please get back
to us, that would be great."
Okay, boom.
- Then we'’ve got Mary,
who she dated.
Wasn'’t Mary saying to Tara
that Paris is, like, bad news?
- Yeah, something like that.
- And she should stay
away from her?
- Right. So Mary and Tara
had a weird attraction.
- Mary and Tara had connected.
- Yeah.
Let'’s look at Mary'’s profile
and see what'’s up with her.
- All right.
- Okay, so Mary says, "I'’m 28.
"I have an amazing wife and son.
They have my heart.
What else could I ask for?
I am blessed."
- So Mary'’s married.
- Let'’s just reach out to her.
All right,
let'’s send Mary a note.
- All right.
- All right, cool.
- Wait, wait,
I need a scone break.
- Mm-hmm.
Can I have a piece?
[computer dings]
- Oh!
- Oh, boy.
- We got something back.
- We got a response from Dana.
She said, "Hello.
Wow, that'’s strange.
I'’d be happy to talk
and help in any way I can."
She says she can video chat now.
[computer ringing]
Oh, hey.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Good. How are you guys?
- We'’re doing great.
Thank you for getting
back to us so quickly.
So this girl in Chicago
has been talking
to some girl on the Internet
who calls herself Tara [bleep].
- Using your pictures.
- Oh, wow.
- Yeah.
- That'’s really weird.
- Do you have anybody
who might have
a grudge against you?
- I don'’t think so.
- Do you have any friends
in Chicago?
- No, I don'’t know anybody
in Chicago.
- And as far as you know,
no one'’s ever used your photos
to make a fake profile?
- No, negative.
- Okay, well look,
if anything comes up,
please don'’t hesitate
to let us know.
- Okay, no problem.
Have a good one.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- It'’s not Dana.
- No.
It could just be
some random person
who happened to come
across Dana'’s pictures
and made this whole thing up.
- Right.
- At this point, I feel like
anybody who gets back to us
is somewhat less suspicious.
- Right. We'’ll see
who doesn'’t get back to us.
Hopefully, it'’ll just be
one person
that didn'’t get back to us, and
that will be the prime suspect.
- That'’s right.
I just really hope we can get
to the bottom of this.
[computer ringing]
- Whoa.
- No caller ID.
- Uh-oh.
Should we answer it?
No.
- No, let'’s not answer it.
- Yeah.
What, are you crazy?
Hello?
- Yes, this is Nev.
Hi, who'’s this?
- Yeah, hey, Mary.
How are you?
- We'’re actually in Chicago,
and we'’re here to help
a young woman named Paris.
- Right,
so basically we just wanted
to hear your side of the story
about, you know, your
relationship with her and--
- Wow.
- Yeah, gee, sorry.
- Why is that?
- The reason
she reached out to us
is because she says she'’s been
talking to this girl
who she met in the chat room
named Tara [bleep].
Have you ever heard
of that person?
- And did she ever
try to reach out to you
or contact you?
And I did not want
another innocent person
to be hurt by Paris.
- Well, so you were trying
to warn Tara
not to get into
a relationship with Paris.
- Whoa.
- Really?
Wow.
Do you think
there'’s any chance
that Paris would be
capable of like,
creating some kind
of elaborate lie?
- So you and, obviously,
Paris now
don'’t speak or have
any contact, right?
- You know, I'’m sorry
to drudge up bad memories,
but I appreciate it.
I appreciate it.
- No, you helped a lot.
Thank you, Mary.
- Okay, bye.
- Bye.
- Whoa.
- Two sides to the story.
- Geez.
- So maybe Paris...
- Is lying to us.
- So I don'’t think it'’s Mary.
- Now I don'’t know
who to trust.
- Are we getting played?
- I don'’t know.
Maybe Paris has been catfishing
Tara [bleep] this whole time
and wants to use the show
to finally meet her
and expose herself.
- Now we have a new suspect:
the victim.
- Well, this is going
to be interesting,
because I don'’t know how Paris
is going to take it
when we bring up the fact
that we spoke to Mary
and that Mary told us
a very different version
of the same story.
- Mary, Mary, quite contrary.
Are we being fooled?
- I don'’t know.
She could somehow be catfishing
again.
Maybe she'’s catfishing
Tara [bleep].
- That would be insane,
if she'’s doing this
to basically corner her victim.
- All right.
- Hello. Come on in, guys.
- Well, we took
all the information
that you sent us.
We spent yesterday
seeing if we could make sense
out of any or all of this.
- And if there'’s anything
you want to tell us right now
before we get into this,
let us know.
- I don'’t know anything else.
I mean, everything
I gave you
is kind of where I'’m at.
- Okay.
So why don'’t we sit down,
and we'’ll go over everything
that we found
and see if we can figure out
what the hell we should do next.
- Sounds good.
- All right, so we messaged
your ex-girlfriends,
and Mary got back to us.
And we ended up having
a conversation with her.
- Okay.
- And she told us
a pretty different version
of the story
of your relationship.
She said that you were
kind of manipulative.
- Another thing she said was
that you were catfishing people
in the chat room
while you guys were dating.
- Really? Huh.
Something that I'’m not
really proud of.
being young, you know,
being dumb,
when I was 16,
I actually pretended
to be someone I wasn'’t.
- Whoa.
- There were two people
that, you know, I talked to.
I talked to them
for probably, like, a year.
You know, I was just confused
about a lot of stuff.
This was right before
I came out at 18.
- So you started out catfishing.
- Yes, I did.
That stuff still
bothers me to this day.
I can'’t apologize enough
to these people.
- So that'’s tough for us,
because I, all of a sudden--
you know, we don'’t have
any real reason
to know how much
you'’re lying to us.
We asked Mary, is it possible
Tara [bleep] is someone that,
for the past few years,
you'’ve been, like,
messing with her?
And she doesn'’t want
to meet you,
but you want to meet her,
and you'’re hoping that, like,
coming on the show
would be a good way
for us to broker finding
and helping you meet her?
She said yeah.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- That is ridiculous.
I think it'’s just
a bunch of craziness.
- So this threw us for a loop,
because you'’re one of
the very few people
we'’ve had on the show
who have admitted
to having been catfish
who are now worried
that they'’re getting catfished.
This situation doesn'’t come up
all that often.
You'’ve been on
both sides of this.
- Yeah, and that'’s kind of
why I didn'’t, like,
you know, jump down her neck.
I can'’t lose love for you,
even if you lied
about damn near everything
for the past four years.
That'’s why I kind of do want
to at least listen
to what this person has to say.
- At this point,
the only person who can answer
any of these questions
is the girl
that you'’ve been talking to.
All that is really left to do
is to just call her
and see if we can get her
to finally meet up.
- Okay.
[phone line trilling]
- Hi, is this Tara [bleep]?
- Oh, hey, Tara.
I don'’t know if you'’ve seen
the show "Catfish" before
on MTV.
- Okay, cool, well,
believe it or not,
we'’re actually here
in Chicago with Paris.
- Recently, she searched
some of the, I guess--
one of the pictures
that you had sent her,
and she found a profile
for a girl named Dana.
We know that'’s not you.
- Okay.
No, I mean, surprisingly
she'’s not that upset.
She just wants to find out
who you are.
She'’s had really strong feelings
for you now for a long time,
and, you know,
she'’s just hoping
that we can actually finally
bring you guys together.
The bottom line is,
is meeting Paris something
that you want to do?
- Okay.
- Um, yeah, sure.
- All right.
She sounds older.
Woman is definitely older.
[phone buzzing]
- Who is that from?
Is that a text?
Could it be Tara?
- It is, actually.
- It is Tara [bleep]?
- Yeah.
- She just texted you?
- Yeah.
- What did she say?
- She said, "Paris,
if you want to meet me,
I need you to tell me
you love me."
[suspenseful music]
- Just a second.
- Tara just texted Paris
and said,
"If you want to meet me,
tell me you love me."
- What?
- Yeah.
- Whoa.
What the hell is going on here?
- Tara just texted Paris
and said,
"If you want to meet me,
tell me you love me."
- What?
- Yeah.
- Whoa.
What the hell is going on?
- Wait, is that all she said?
- No, she sent another one
following that.
- What did she say?
"Did you ever love me?"
- This is getting creepy.
[computer ringing]
- Oh.
- Oh, oh.
- Geez.
Hey, Tara.
- Hey. Sorry I got upset.
- You will?
- I'’m happy to hear that.
- You don'’t live in Chicago.
Okay. Where do you live?
- Okay, great.
- Okay, thanks so much, Tara.
- Okay, bye.
- Do you know anyone
from upstate New York?
- I don'’t.
I'’ve never been.
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
- Nicole is the one person
we haven'’t heard back from.
So she'’s a total
wild card right now.
Does that voice sound
like Nicole?
- No, but I don'’t put,
really, anything past Nicole.
- But, really,
it could be anybody.
- Yeah.
- This could be someone
completely off of our list.
- I have no idea.
- You'’ve got to get
to the bottom of this.
- Yeah.
- Otherwise, it'’s going
to keep on haunting you.
- We got to go pick up Paris.
- We'’re taking Paris
to Syracuse.
- Syracuse.
I'’m a little excited
and nervous myself.
I mean, we'’re going
into this blind.
- Whatever it is, it'’ll give
Paris the answer she needs
so that she can start
trusting people again,
'’cause until she knows,
like, everyone in her life
is a suspect.
- All right, here we go.
Hey, all right.
Buckle up.
- Will do.
[pop music]
- Well, here we are.
No turning back now.
♪
- Well, we'’re almost there.
- Yeah.
- Four minutes.
- Not that far.
- When you put a time on it,
it kind of makes it worse
on the inside.
- Whoever it is, I mean,
your relationship with them
has existed,
and your feelings
and conversations,
that won'’t change.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Well, this is it.
this little white house
over here.
Okay.
Are you ready to do this?
- I am.
- Max?
- Let'’s go.
- This is it.
Wait here.
I'’ll knock on the door.
- It looks like someone'’s home.
- Oh, she just said,
"Come around back.
I don'’t want
my nosy neighbors to see."
All right.
She sees we'’re here.
- Is this weird?
- "Come around back,
where I can kill you
and no one will see."
- Right.
- [laughs]
[knocking at door]
- Someone'’s coming?
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Good.
Are you Tara?
- Yes.
- Oh, my [bleep] God.
- Someone'’s coming?
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Good.
Are you Tara?
- Yes.
- I'’m Nev.
Do you want to come out?
- Yeah, I want
to talk to Paris.
- Yes, I imagine that'’s
why you invited us here.
- Oh, my [bleep] God.
- Well...
- Hey, babe.
I thought you never
could love me.
- What?
Do you know each other?
- Unreal.
- Who is it?
- Mary.
- It'’s Mary?
- Yeah.
- Nice to meet you.
- We spoke to you, didn'’t we?
- Yeah.
- You said you were married
and you have a kid.
- Right.
- Is that true?
- Yes.
- Do you live here
with your family?
- I do.
- So this is just--
- Your revenge.
- Hmm.
- Wow.
- That'’s a lot of trouble
to go to,
at least from the outside.
- But do you know
what she'’s done to me?
- Well, we don'’t know anything.
- Right.
What did you do, Paris?
Tell them.
- Oh, this is [bleep].
- Well, we heard her--
- Oh, I'’m sure you have.
- Well, I'’m curious
to hear your side of it.
We'’re up here.
We came to meet you.
- Right.
- What'’s the reason
for her revenge?
- Yeah.
- Well, we had plans
to be together,
yet where did I end up?
- What did you come with?
- What did I come with?
- A whole lot of baggage.
- Who told me to come?
- I told you to come.
You told me that you had options
as far as, like, what you'’d do
when you got here.
Then you be like,
"well, we don'’t know
where we'’re going
to stay tonight,"
and you left that to me
to be responsible for you,
your mother,
and your 5-year-old.
- Oh, is that right?
- Oh, yeah,
that'’s really selfish.
- No, Paris, she'’s not telling
the whole story.
Where did you put me?
- Don'’t say I put you anywhere.
- You did.
- I gave you an option.
- You put me there.
- She stayed in a women'’s
homeless shelter.
- So I'’m going to challenge you
a little bit on this.
Because you lived at home.
- Mm-hmm.
- So for you to, in any way,
indicate that maybe
your new girlfriend
could stay with you in your home
would have been presumptuous,
because your mom probably
wouldn'’t have approved of it.
- I wouldn'’t say
it wouldn'’t have--
no, I wouldn'’t have
said that at all,
because she stayed
the very first night
that she came here;
she stayed.
And then when my mom was like,
"Okay, well,
this is not going to happen,"
what can I do about it?
- Can I ask you a question?
- Yeah.
- So she was kind of
giving you the cold shoulder.
- Yeah, and I was hurt.
- You got the hint.
- Yeah.
- And you left.
- Mm-hmm.
- Where did you go?
- South Carolina.
- With your mom and your son?
- Yep, where we met my wife.
- And are you guys happy?
- Absolutely.
And let me mind you all
I took care of myself
when I first moved
to South Carolina.
- Good,
'’cause you'’re an adult.
- Right.
- And that'’s important.
So you meet this great girl
in South Carolina.
You'’re all set and happy
and in love with a new girl.
What are you doing
plotting revenge
against this other girl?
Why not just cut the cord,
let her go, let the past go?
- Why not?
Like I said, revenge.
- Whose voice was Tara
on the phone?
- Somebody close to me.
- Was it your wife?
- Yeah.
- That I spoke to the other day?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- Hold up.
Wouldn'’t it be the job
of a spouse
or a partner, wife
to tell you
that this is not right,
just move past it?
She kind of dwelled with you?
Like, what kind of
a person is she?
- Because she knows
you deserved it.
- Oh, yeah, great.
But the joke'’s kind of
on you, though,
because you were out
for revenge, and, you know,
you got nothing
out of it so, bye-bye.
[bleep].
Sad excuse for a person.
[phone line trills]
- Hello.
- Hi, Mary?
- Hi.
- I know things were
a little heated earlier,
and we were hoping
that maybe we could
come by without Paris
and get your side of the story.
- Great. We will be
over there shortly.
- Bye.
- Hey, come on in.
- Hey.
- Hi, okay, thanks.
- Sorry for how things
got started earlier,
and I would like to explain that
and why I did it for so long.
Paris really hurt me,
like, devastated my life.
I packed up.
I left my grandparents.
I left, you know,
my whole life behind
for somebody that said she had
my back through it all.
She promised me up and down
she was going to love me,
take care of me,
we would figure it out together.
- Was it understood that you,
your mom, and your son
were all going to live
in the house with Paris'’s mom?
- That'’s what she told me, yes.
But when we got there, Paris
dropped me off at the shelter
with my son and my mom.
She convinced me
that she was in it
for the long haul,
and then all of the sudden,
the light switch changes.
That'’s how quick it was.
- But you can'’t
blame her completely.
She was 19;
that doesn'’t mean
she should just be able
to say and do
whatever she wants and not claim
responsibility for herself.
- Right.
- But you have to at least
appreciate that, like,
she was excited
and wanted things to work out
and then quickly discovered
that they may not be
as easy as she hoped.
- I mean, I acknowledge
that she was young.
Like, I get that.
- Right.
- And I may have been
on a different level
than she was emotionally,
but I wanted the love,
the affection
that she said
I was going to get.
- Okay,
so here'’s the real question.
If you'’re the five-year-older,
more reasonable person
who'’s telling us
that everything Paris says
is, like, totally wrong...
- Mm-hmm.
- Why did you spend
all this time catfishing her?
- It hasn'’t, you know,
always been malicious.
It was, at one point,
very malicious.
I felt like I was
doing something
to hurt her like she hurt me,
and it started as revenge.
But I kept thinking about her,
and I'’m like, "Is she okay?"
I stayed up all night
and talked to this girl
and listened to her cry.
As Tara, I wanted
to protect her,
and I think that'’s
why I kind of stayed
along with Paris for so long.
The friendship did grow;
I'’m not going to lie.
- So you liked having
communication with Paris?
- After a while, yes.
This is the last lie
in my life,
and I'’m ready
for it to be gone.
- So it sounds like
if there'’s anything left
between you and Paris
that might actually be
therapeutic and helpful,
it'’s for you to sit down
and for you to tell her
how you feel
and how she made you feel.
And that'’s it.
- I agree.
- So if you'’re willing
to consider
meeting back up tomorrow...
- Mm-hmm.
- With Paris.
- I hope she will come and,
you know, at least
try to listen.
- This episode of "Catfish:
The TV Show" continues now.
- I'’m a little angry.
I am a little frustrated
that someone could spend so much
of their time playing games.
I am still confused
about what emotion
is driving Mary,
what makes her so angry
about this whole situation,
but I'’m willing to continue
to try to understand.
- Okay, let'’s do it.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey.
- Come on in.
- All right, thanks.
All right, so here we are.
We have lots of questions
and so far, no real answers.
We were just curious, like,
how did you find that Dana girl?
- Through my cousin'’s Facebook.
- You don'’t know Dana.
- Not at all.
- Your cousin'’s friends
with her?
- Mm-hmm.
- In real life
or just on Facebook?
- Yeah, they went to high school
together.
- How were you
kind of doing it
with all the different accounts?
And how did--
- Multiple messengers
on one computer.
There'’s an app for it.
- Wow, crafty.
- So you were really
talking to yourself
when Mary was talking to Tara.
- Yeah.
- That'’s weird.
- Sorry.
- No.
- We talked a little bit
about you
kind of saying
whatever it is
that you want
and need to say
and would like Paris here.
She'’s willing to listen.
- Yeah, just bear with me
as I read it.
"I'’m writing this
because I think it'’s better
"to focus on my feelings
and put them down on paper.
"Yes, I did catfish you.
"Yes, it was wrong of me to do.
"I had you believing
I was someone I was not,
"that you indeed
were in love with.
"Over time, revenge
became less of a goal
"and turned into more
of a compassion and concern
"as I witnessed so much
you were going through
"and the hard times
you dealt with.
"I was there for you.
"I started to build
a friendship with you as Tara,
"but still even then, the true
and genuine care was me.
"Not only was I there for you,
"but you were there
for me as well.
"I finally felt like I had
gained the love and respect
I wanted all along."
- I don'’t know where to begin,
to be honest.
I'’m sorry for
what I put you through.
I made mistakes.
I was young.
Maybe at one point,
I did promise you
a certain part of me
and you felt
as though you didn'’t get that.
So I am sympathetic,
and I am apologetic for that.
- You were young
at the time.
You were still in school.
I should'’ve realized
then and there
that I was making the mistake
going all that way
and not knowing enough
and maybe not having
a structured plan.
But you also had me believing,
you know, both of us would get
through it together.
It wasn'’t fair to you or me.
But, you know, I'’ll always
be there for you
if you need somebody.
It'’s like--and I'’m not
asking you for your friendship.
I'’m not asking you...
- Yeah, no, I got you.
- For communication.
But I'’ll leave
that door open.
- I'’m sorry.
- I'’m sorry.
- It'’s okay.
I don'’t dwell
on negative stuff.
It'’s kind of like, it happened.
- Yeah.
- You know, it feels like--
- I think we'’re
at a good place now.
- Yeah, you guys
have sort of gotten
through the tough parts.
You'’ve expressed your feelings.
- I'’m just glad
it'’s finally out there
and we can both move on.
All right.
Thank you all.
- ♪ Too good
to be good for me ♪
♪ Too bad
that that'’s all I need ♪
♪ Too good to be good for me
♪ Too bad
that that'’s all I need ♪
- Okay, well, there you go.
♪
- ♪ Too bad that that'’s
all I need ♪
♪ All I need
[computer ringing]
- Hey, Paris.
- Hey, Paris.
- Bonjour, Paris!
- How you doing?
- I'’m doing good.
- Have you talked to Maryat all?
- She did text me
and was like, you know,
"Let'’s meet up."
And she met me at the hotel.
- Really?
- Yeah.
She came with her wife
and her son.
I was like, "Okay."
- And have you guys
had any contact since that day?
- No.
Basically, with everything
that was said and done,
we'’re just not going to talk,
but her coming to me
was kind of, like, just
that much more closure.
- Well, Paris,
it'’s great talking to you.
- See you.
- Bye, Paris.
[computer ringing]
- Hey. How are you?
- Everything is great.
- How are things with Paris?
- I got my closure
letting her know it was me.
Now she can live her life
and I can live mine.
I still have concerns for her.
I feel like there'’s a part of
me that needs to protect her,
'’cause I know
people hurt her a lot,
but I also know I hurt her.
- I think both you and Paris
learned a lot from this.
- Thank you all so much
for the opportunity.
- Good luck with everything.
- Hopefully we'’ll see you soon.
- All right, thanks.
Bye, guys.
- Bye, Mary.
- "My ex-online girlfriend
just ruined
my real-life relationship."
This girl is stalking you.
- Basically.
- Whoa.
- I would see text messages
like,
"I wish you were here
licking my [bleep]."
- All the windows are, like,
blacked out.
[tense music]
981
00:41:03.
that Tara has lied to you.
- Yeah.
- What?
- So now we have a new suspect:
the victim.
- What the hell is going on?
- She doesn'’t seem like someone
that would whip up
so much drama.
- Now I don'’t know
who to trust.
- If there'’s anything
you want to tell us right now,
let us know.
[suspenseful music]
I think I'’m getting
your sickness.
You'’re sniffling, and I already
feel it behind my eyes.
- I'’m actually a little worried
that this is getting to be
a little bit more serious
than just a cold.
I'’ve got, like,
this weird growth...
in my, like, back.
Do you see that?
- [laughs] Oh, my God.
- Do you see that?
- What'’s going on here?
- I don'’t know.
What is it?
[both yelling]
- [screaming]
- Oh, my God!
[both screaming]
- Eeeeh!
- Now it'’s time
to catch a real catfish.
- I'’m ready
to dive in if you are.
- Okay, here we go.
We got an email.
Paris.
- Paris.
- [with French accent]
My name is Paris.
I am 25, and I live
right outside Chicago.
[laughter]
All right, "Dear Nev and Max,
my name is Paris.
I am 25 and live right outside
Chicago, Illinois."
- ♪ Hey
- "A little over
four years ago,
"I met Tara in a chat room.
She was unlike anyone
I had ever met."
- ♪ Never knew lovin'’
could hurt this good ♪
- "I felt loved,
and I felt heard,
"which made it easy
for me to love her in return.
I was crazy about her
in every way."
- ♪ Drives me wild
- "After a while, I started
to suggest that we meet up."
♪ Wild, wild, wild
- ♪ Hey!
- "But before we could,
Tara had an accident."
What kind of accident
did she have?
"I was scared because
I couldn'’t talk to her,
"and I thought
I was losing someone
"who had meant so much to me.
"After that,
there were always excuses
"to never video chat
or meet up.
"Thinking that this would be
the last I heard from her,
"I carried on with my life.
"Now two years later, Tara
has found her way back to me.
"I was so suspicious
about her resurfacing
"that I decided to steal a trick
from your playbook.
"I image-searched her photos,
"and they led back
to a girl in New Jersey.
"I have no idea
what to make of this.
"Tara has been
in and out of my life,
"and every time, I am that much
more confused and frustrated.
Please help."
All right, well, let'’s get her
on the phone here and see.
[computer beeping]
Hi.
- Paris.
- Hi, how are you?
- Bonjour.
[laughter]
How'’s Chicago?
- Pretty solid.
-And what do you do?
- I work as a licensed
massage therapist.
- Whoa. Cool.
- Wow.
So you'’re like
the perfect girlfriend.
Why don'’t you tell us
a little bit more
about how this all started?
- I used chat rooms as, like,
a platform to, like,
you know, meet people
when I was younger.
This one day, I was sitting
in the room.
We were voice chatting,
actually,
and Tara heard my voice.
"What are you up to?"
And she PM'’d me.
The more you talk, the more
you feel, so the feelings grew.
- I'’m excited to talk to you.
- [laughs] You'’re cute.
I was in love,
and I found something
that was so real to me.
She seemed to be
so much like me.
It was just natural.
- And you now already know
that she might not be
the girl in the picture
she'’s been sending you.
- Yeah, I was curious,
and I was just like,
"Okay, I'’m going
to take this picture
that she sent me, and I'’m going
to reverse-search it."
And when I did,
I found a Facebook page
with someone else'’s name,
and I was like, "This is just
not making sense."
- Maybe there'’s a chance
we can figure out who she is.
- You guys can find the answer
if I can'’t,
and I know that, you know,
the truth will come out.
Then maybe one day,
we'’ll come around to it
and we'’ll be
exactly what we hoped to be.
- All right, so sit tight.
- We'’re going
to jump on a plane.
- Au revoir.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- She'’s cool.
All right,
we'’re going to Paris.
- All right, let'’s go.
- Let'’s do it.
It'’s all we need,
is this little guy.
[upbeat music]
♪
- Don'’t hurt yourself.
- Someone'’s got to do it.
This is not what I imagined
Paris would look like.
- Paris is the person
that we'’re going to see.
- Oh, here'’s the house.
Okay. Let'’s do this.
- Hey.
- Hello.
- How are you?
- What'’s up?
Hi. Hi.
- Come on in.
- All right.
Tell us the story of Tara.
- Well, I actually started,
you know, going
into the chat room, you know,
just as a way to meet people
that were bi and lesbian.
You know, I was looking
for that group.
And Tara actually,
she was like, "Hey."
- "Hey."
- Yeah, literally,
just "hey"
and then, you know...
- Modern romance.
- Love at first "hey"
kind of thing.
[both laugh]
It was really intense.
Like, we talked
almost every day,
completely smitten.
It was love.
- But then things changed.
- After so many times
of, like, "Hey, let'’s meet,"
she got into an accident.
- Like a car accident?
- Well, that was when, like,
the variety of excuses started.
"Oh, I can'’t talk to you,
because I suffered some type
of injury to my brain."
It was like it was always
the excuse was
"my head is broken"
kind of thing.
And I was just like,
"Okay, whatever."
- But you genuinely love her.
- Yeah, like, I have, like,
a legit bond with her.
I'’ve shared things with her
that I wasn'’t so comfortable
with telling people
that I lives with,
little things in my life,
the stuff that I was going
through with, you know, college
and, you know, and being
faced with the whole thing
of coming out.
- You'’ve used the Internet
to really kind of express
your sexuality.
- Yeah, I would say that.
- Has it ever occurred to you
that maybe Tara is someone else
in the chat room?
- You know,
there were two people.
The first one, Nicole,
we were friends
for a few months,
and then we dated.
- In person.
- Mm-hmm.
- And how was that?
Like, what was
that relationship like?
- It was really good,
like, you know,
the whole honeymoon phase,
and then she just didn'’t like
the fact that I was bi.
'’Cause she was full-on lesbian.
She hated that, and me and her
broke up on bad terms.
There was another girl
after that, Mary.
She was maybe four years olderthan me.
We started off as friends.
Then we dated.
- Where does she live?
- Originally Mississippi,
and then she actually came here.
- So she moved here?
- Yeah.
- To be with you.
- Yeah, she came with her mom
and her 5-year-old son.
- Did they get their own place?
- That was the plan.
You know, she told me
she had the whole list of plans
that she would do,
but when she got here,
she had no plan at all.
There was some sense
of responsibility there
to help her in that sense,
but, you know, I knew
when she got here
that she was going
to be a big mess.
- Wow. How did that end?
- I told her, like, you know,
"This is too much for me."
The responsibility
is not, you know,
one that I initially thought
that I would have
to be a part of,
and it kind of, like, went
a little bit nutty on me.
Yeah, that situation
kind of ended badly as well.
- Is she still
in your life at all?
- No, I don'’t know
where she is, actually.
One time, Tara
and Mary actually,
they messaged each other
at one point.
- Oh, really?
- Yeah.
Like, Mary messaged her
and was like,
"Oh, don'’t talk to her.
You know, that would be
bad news for you."
You know, pretty much tried
to, like, taint who I was.
- This girl sounds like
she'’s definitely
not above inventing
a new profile,
pretending to be someone else
in the chat room.
- Right.
- Well, this is
an interesting case.
You already know that Tara
has lied to you.
- Yeah.
- Because you found pictures.
Why don'’t we go onto your laptop
and you can actually show us
all the stuff that you found?
- Okay.
- Cool.
Let'’s check out
what we'’re dealing with here.
Okay, so you found
this Dana profile.
- Mm-hmm.
- So this is who you believed
you were in a relationship with
for, like, three years.
- Yeah.
- Of the possible people
that could be catfishing you,
we'’ve got Mary,
who moved here from Mississippi,
and then we'’ve got Nicole,
your ex-girlfriend.
- Yep.
- Now, what'’s the story
with her?
- Well, we dated,
and it got pretty intense
for a little bit,
but I met someone
in massage school,
and we became, you know,
really good friends,
best friends, actually,
and she was always skeptical
that I was
messing around with him
just because we were
so good of friends.
- A guy?
- Yeah.
She kind of like, became
like a danger.
Like, she would throw stuff,
do extra-crazy stuff.
- Oh, she became, like, violent.
- That'’s pretty intense.
- Then the miscommunication
kind of caused us to break up.
- So she'’s obviously
a prime suspect.
- Right.
- Mm-hmm.
- You'’ve lived
a very colorful life online
the past five years.
You'’ve had real girlfriends
that have kind of
gone bonkers on you
and potentially could now
be trying to get back at you.
- It could be anybody.
- Essentially, yeah.
- You'’re also kind of amazingly
willing to keep an open mind.
And if and when we meet Tara
or whatever her name is,
the person
you'’ve been talking to,
maybe there could be
some kind of relationship,
because you still
have a connection with her.
- Yeah, I do have love
for her
and who she actually is,
aside from all this.
- All right, well, look,
we'’ve got a lot to look through.
We'’ll see what we can find.
- All right, sounds good.
- How is this girl--
like, she doesn'’t seem
like someone
that would whip up
so much drama.
- I know.
- Until we identify
who'’s doing this to her, like,
she won'’t be able
to trust anyone
she meets in the future,
especially on the Internet.
[upbeat music]
♪
- What can I get for you?
- What can you get for me?
- Is that the cinnamon scone?
- Yes.
- One of those, please.
- Can I have a tea?
- Okay.
- Okay.
- A little bit of this doughnut.
- All right, "Paris and Tara."
- All right.
So Paris has had
an interesting social media
online relationship history.
- She started going
on this chat group.
She met a girl on there
named Tara.
- Right.
They got really close.
Then things started to get
a little strained between them,
because Tara had
these accidents and--
- She hit her head,
and she couldn'’t
talk on the phone,
because her head was broken.
- And Paris,
knowing what excuses look like,
started to kind of
get tired of them.
What does Paris do?
She image-searches
one of the pictures
hat Tara sends her
and boom, finds
a social media profile
for some other girl
named Dana.
Here we go.
Look, here'’s the email.
"Here'’s the information
I have for Tara.
"Her name is Tara [bleep],
"and I have no social media,
just her Yahoo user name,
"two phone numbers,
and four photos,
which I have attached
to this email."
She also said, "Here'’s
the Facebook link
"to my ex Mary.
"I'’m not allowed to say anything
since she blocked me,
but hopefully you guys
will have better luck."
And "Finally, I don'’t have
much information
for my ex-girlfriend Nicole,
"but I have her email address.
Good luck, guys."
So we don'’t have to prove
that Tara is or isn'’t real,
because we already know
that she'’s not the girl
in the pictures,
so that saves us some time.
- The real question is,
who is Tara?
- Could she be one
of these exes,
or is she someone
entirely different?
All right, here we go, Max.
Okay, let'’s look
at Dana'’s profile.
- That'’s the mask.
- Yeah, that'’s the girl
in the pictures.
All right,
so here'’s Dana'’s page.
So why don'’t we send Dana
a message?
- Yeah.
- "Hey, Dana, it'’s Nev and Max
with the MTV show '’Catfish.'’
"We'’re doing an episode now
and think somebody might be
"using your picture
to talk to somebody.
"We would love to video chat
with you if you have a minute.
Thanks!"
- We'’ve got two
phone numbers for Tara.
Let'’s run the numbers.
- Run the numbers.
All right, I'’m running
Tara'’s old phone number.
Here we go.
What'’s this?
It says it'’s
a landline from Chicago,
so there'’s nothing there.
- Well, she was textingwith it,
so we actually know that'’s
like a texting app number.
Shady.
- Yeah.
All right, let'’s try
the current number.
- Oh.
- Oh, we got something.
- Mary. Mary.
- Mary [bleep].
- Wait, is that
for the correct number?
It'’s not.
- Oh.
Okay, that doesn'’t help.
- Okay, so suspects.
There was Nicole, who was
a real-life girlfriend.
- Right. Things with Nicole
did not end well.
- We'’ve got an email address
for Nicole.
- Yeah.
- Let'’s look that up.
- Nothing comes up for Nicole.
I think we need
to reach out to Nicole.
"This is Nev and Max
from Catfish.
"We are filming an episode now
and could use your help.
If you could please get back
to us, that would be great."
Okay, boom.
- Then we'’ve got Mary,
who she dated.
Wasn'’t Mary saying to Tara
that Paris is, like, bad news?
- Yeah, something like that.
- And she should stay
away from her?
- Right. So Mary and Tara
had a weird attraction.
- Mary and Tara had connected.
- Yeah.
Let'’s look at Mary'’s profile
and see what'’s up with her.
- All right.
- Okay, so Mary says, "I'’m 28.
"I have an amazing wife and son.
They have my heart.
What else could I ask for?
I am blessed."
- So Mary'’s married.
- Let'’s just reach out to her.
All right,
let'’s send Mary a note.
- All right.
- All right, cool.
- Wait, wait,
I need a scone break.
- Mm-hmm.
Can I have a piece?
[computer dings]
- Oh!
- Oh, boy.
- We got something back.
- We got a response from Dana.
She said, "Hello.
Wow, that'’s strange.
I'’d be happy to talk
and help in any way I can."
She says she can video chat now.
[computer ringing]
Oh, hey.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Good. How are you guys?
- We'’re doing great.
Thank you for getting
back to us so quickly.
So this girl in Chicago
has been talking
to some girl on the Internet
who calls herself Tara [bleep].
- Using your pictures.
- Oh, wow.
- Yeah.
- That'’s really weird.
- Do you have anybody
who might have
a grudge against you?
- I don'’t think so.
- Do you have any friends
in Chicago?
- No, I don'’t know anybody
in Chicago.
- And as far as you know,
no one'’s ever used your photos
to make a fake profile?
- No, negative.
- Okay, well look,
if anything comes up,
please don'’t hesitate
to let us know.
- Okay, no problem.
Have a good one.
- Bye.
- Bye.
- It'’s not Dana.
- No.
It could just be
some random person
who happened to come
across Dana'’s pictures
and made this whole thing up.
- Right.
- At this point, I feel like
anybody who gets back to us
is somewhat less suspicious.
- Right. We'’ll see
who doesn'’t get back to us.
Hopefully, it'’ll just be
one person
that didn'’t get back to us, and
that will be the prime suspect.
- That'’s right.
I just really hope we can get
to the bottom of this.
[computer ringing]
- Whoa.
- No caller ID.
- Uh-oh.
Should we answer it?
No.
- No, let'’s not answer it.
- Yeah.
What, are you crazy?
Hello?
- Yes, this is Nev.
Hi, who'’s this?
- Yeah, hey, Mary.
How are you?
- We'’re actually in Chicago,
and we'’re here to help
a young woman named Paris.
- Right,
so basically we just wanted
to hear your side of the story
about, you know, your
relationship with her and--
- Wow.
- Yeah, gee, sorry.
- Why is that?
- The reason
she reached out to us
is because she says she'’s been
talking to this girl
who she met in the chat room
named Tara [bleep].
Have you ever heard
of that person?
- And did she ever
try to reach out to you
or contact you?
And I did not want
another innocent person
to be hurt by Paris.
- Well, so you were trying
to warn Tara
not to get into
a relationship with Paris.
- Whoa.
- Really?
Wow.
Do you think
there'’s any chance
that Paris would be
capable of like,
creating some kind
of elaborate lie?
- So you and, obviously,
Paris now
don'’t speak or have
any contact, right?
- You know, I'’m sorry
to drudge up bad memories,
but I appreciate it.
I appreciate it.
- No, you helped a lot.
Thank you, Mary.
- Okay, bye.
- Bye.
- Whoa.
- Two sides to the story.
- Geez.
- So maybe Paris...
- Is lying to us.
- So I don'’t think it'’s Mary.
- Now I don'’t know
who to trust.
- Are we getting played?
- I don'’t know.
Maybe Paris has been catfishing
Tara [bleep] this whole time
and wants to use the show
to finally meet her
and expose herself.
- Now we have a new suspect:
the victim.
- Well, this is going
to be interesting,
because I don'’t know how Paris
is going to take it
when we bring up the fact
that we spoke to Mary
and that Mary told us
a very different version
of the same story.
- Mary, Mary, quite contrary.
Are we being fooled?
- I don'’t know.
She could somehow be catfishing
again.
Maybe she'’s catfishing
Tara [bleep].
- That would be insane,
if she'’s doing this
to basically corner her victim.
- All right.
- Hello. Come on in, guys.
- Well, we took
all the information
that you sent us.
We spent yesterday
seeing if we could make sense
out of any or all of this.
- And if there'’s anything
you want to tell us right now
before we get into this,
let us know.
- I don'’t know anything else.
I mean, everything
I gave you
is kind of where I'’m at.
- Okay.
So why don'’t we sit down,
and we'’ll go over everything
that we found
and see if we can figure out
what the hell we should do next.
- Sounds good.
- All right, so we messaged
your ex-girlfriends,
and Mary got back to us.
And we ended up having
a conversation with her.
- Okay.
- And she told us
a pretty different version
of the story
of your relationship.
She said that you were
kind of manipulative.
- Another thing she said was
that you were catfishing people
in the chat room
while you guys were dating.
- Really? Huh.
Something that I'’m not
really proud of.
being young, you know,
being dumb,
when I was 16,
I actually pretended
to be someone I wasn'’t.
- Whoa.
- There were two people
that, you know, I talked to.
I talked to them
for probably, like, a year.
You know, I was just confused
about a lot of stuff.
This was right before
I came out at 18.
- So you started out catfishing.
- Yes, I did.
That stuff still
bothers me to this day.
I can'’t apologize enough
to these people.
- So that'’s tough for us,
because I, all of a sudden--
you know, we don'’t have
any real reason
to know how much
you'’re lying to us.
We asked Mary, is it possible
Tara [bleep] is someone that,
for the past few years,
you'’ve been, like,
messing with her?
And she doesn'’t want
to meet you,
but you want to meet her,
and you'’re hoping that, like,
coming on the show
would be a good way
for us to broker finding
and helping you meet her?
She said yeah.
- Really?
- Yeah.
- That is ridiculous.
I think it'’s just
a bunch of craziness.
- So this threw us for a loop,
because you'’re one of
the very few people
we'’ve had on the show
who have admitted
to having been catfish
who are now worried
that they'’re getting catfished.
This situation doesn'’t come up
all that often.
You'’ve been on
both sides of this.
- Yeah, and that'’s kind of
why I didn'’t, like,
you know, jump down her neck.
I can'’t lose love for you,
even if you lied
about damn near everything
for the past four years.
That'’s why I kind of do want
to at least listen
to what this person has to say.
- At this point,
the only person who can answer
any of these questions
is the girl
that you'’ve been talking to.
All that is really left to do
is to just call her
and see if we can get her
to finally meet up.
- Okay.
[phone line trilling]
- Hi, is this Tara [bleep]?
- Oh, hey, Tara.
I don'’t know if you'’ve seen
the show "Catfish" before
on MTV.
- Okay, cool, well,
believe it or not,
we'’re actually here
in Chicago with Paris.
- Recently, she searched
some of the, I guess--
one of the pictures
that you had sent her,
and she found a profile
for a girl named Dana.
We know that'’s not you.
- Okay.
No, I mean, surprisingly
she'’s not that upset.
She just wants to find out
who you are.
She'’s had really strong feelings
for you now for a long time,
and, you know,
she'’s just hoping
that we can actually finally
bring you guys together.
The bottom line is,
is meeting Paris something
that you want to do?
- Okay.
- Um, yeah, sure.
- All right.
She sounds older.
Woman is definitely older.
[phone buzzing]
- Who is that from?
Is that a text?
Could it be Tara?
- It is, actually.
- It is Tara [bleep]?
- Yeah.
- She just texted you?
- Yeah.
- What did she say?
- She said, "Paris,
if you want to meet me,
I need you to tell me
you love me."
[suspenseful music]
- Just a second.
- Tara just texted Paris
and said,
"If you want to meet me,
tell me you love me."
- What?
- Yeah.
- Whoa.
What the hell is going on here?
- Tara just texted Paris
and said,
"If you want to meet me,
tell me you love me."
- What?
- Yeah.
- Whoa.
What the hell is going on?
- Wait, is that all she said?
- No, she sent another one
following that.
- What did she say?
"Did you ever love me?"
- This is getting creepy.
[computer ringing]
- Oh.
- Oh, oh.
- Geez.
Hey, Tara.
- Hey. Sorry I got upset.
- You will?
- I'’m happy to hear that.
- You don'’t live in Chicago.
Okay. Where do you live?
- Okay, great.
- Okay, thanks so much, Tara.
- Okay, bye.
- Do you know anyone
from upstate New York?
- I don'’t.
I'’ve never been.
- Nothing.
- Nothing.
- Nicole is the one person
we haven'’t heard back from.
So she'’s a total
wild card right now.
Does that voice sound
like Nicole?
- No, but I don'’t put,
really, anything past Nicole.
- But, really,
it could be anybody.
- Yeah.
- This could be someone
completely off of our list.
- I have no idea.
- You'’ve got to get
to the bottom of this.
- Yeah.
- Otherwise, it'’s going
to keep on haunting you.
- We got to go pick up Paris.
- We'’re taking Paris
to Syracuse.
- Syracuse.
I'’m a little excited
and nervous myself.
I mean, we'’re going
into this blind.
- Whatever it is, it'’ll give
Paris the answer she needs
so that she can start
trusting people again,
'’cause until she knows,
like, everyone in her life
is a suspect.
- All right, here we go.
Hey, all right.
Buckle up.
- Will do.
[pop music]
- Well, here we are.
No turning back now.
♪
- Well, we'’re almost there.
- Yeah.
- Four minutes.
- Not that far.
- When you put a time on it,
it kind of makes it worse
on the inside.
- Whoever it is, I mean,
your relationship with them
has existed,
and your feelings
and conversations,
that won'’t change.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Well, this is it.
this little white house
over here.
Okay.
Are you ready to do this?
- I am.
- Max?
- Let'’s go.
- This is it.
Wait here.
I'’ll knock on the door.
- It looks like someone'’s home.
- Oh, she just said,
"Come around back.
I don'’t want
my nosy neighbors to see."
All right.
She sees we'’re here.
- Is this weird?
- "Come around back,
where I can kill you
and no one will see."
- Right.
- [laughs]
[knocking at door]
- Someone'’s coming?
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Good.
Are you Tara?
- Yes.
- Oh, my [bleep] God.
- Someone'’s coming?
- Hi.
- How are you?
- Good.
Are you Tara?
- Yes.
- I'’m Nev.
Do you want to come out?
- Yeah, I want
to talk to Paris.
- Yes, I imagine that'’s
why you invited us here.
- Oh, my [bleep] God.
- Well...
- Hey, babe.
I thought you never
could love me.
- What?
Do you know each other?
- Unreal.
- Who is it?
- Mary.
- It'’s Mary?
- Yeah.
- Nice to meet you.
- We spoke to you, didn'’t we?
- Yeah.
- You said you were married
and you have a kid.
- Right.
- Is that true?
- Yes.
- Do you live here
with your family?
- I do.
- So this is just--
- Your revenge.
- Hmm.
- Wow.
- That'’s a lot of trouble
to go to,
at least from the outside.
- But do you know
what she'’s done to me?
- Well, we don'’t know anything.
- Right.
What did you do, Paris?
Tell them.
- Oh, this is [bleep].
- Well, we heard her--
- Oh, I'’m sure you have.
- Well, I'’m curious
to hear your side of it.
We'’re up here.
We came to meet you.
- Right.
- What'’s the reason
for her revenge?
- Yeah.
- Well, we had plans
to be together,
yet where did I end up?
- What did you come with?
- What did I come with?
- A whole lot of baggage.
- Who told me to come?
- I told you to come.
You told me that you had options
as far as, like, what you'’d do
when you got here.
Then you be like,
"well, we don'’t know
where we'’re going
to stay tonight,"
and you left that to me
to be responsible for you,
your mother,
and your 5-year-old.
- Oh, is that right?
- Oh, yeah,
that'’s really selfish.
- No, Paris, she'’s not telling
the whole story.
Where did you put me?
- Don'’t say I put you anywhere.
- You did.
- I gave you an option.
- You put me there.
- She stayed in a women'’s
homeless shelter.
- So I'’m going to challenge you
a little bit on this.
Because you lived at home.
- Mm-hmm.
- So for you to, in any way,
indicate that maybe
your new girlfriend
could stay with you in your home
would have been presumptuous,
because your mom probably
wouldn'’t have approved of it.
- I wouldn'’t say
it wouldn'’t have--
no, I wouldn'’t have
said that at all,
because she stayed
the very first night
that she came here;
she stayed.
And then when my mom was like,
"Okay, well,
this is not going to happen,"
what can I do about it?
- Can I ask you a question?
- Yeah.
- So she was kind of
giving you the cold shoulder.
- Yeah, and I was hurt.
- You got the hint.
- Yeah.
- And you left.
- Mm-hmm.
- Where did you go?
- South Carolina.
- With your mom and your son?
- Yep, where we met my wife.
- And are you guys happy?
- Absolutely.
And let me mind you all
I took care of myself
when I first moved
to South Carolina.
- Good,
'’cause you'’re an adult.
- Right.
- And that'’s important.
So you meet this great girl
in South Carolina.
You'’re all set and happy
and in love with a new girl.
What are you doing
plotting revenge
against this other girl?
Why not just cut the cord,
let her go, let the past go?
- Why not?
Like I said, revenge.
- Whose voice was Tara
on the phone?
- Somebody close to me.
- Was it your wife?
- Yeah.
- That I spoke to the other day?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- Hold up.
Wouldn'’t it be the job
of a spouse
or a partner, wife
to tell you
that this is not right,
just move past it?
She kind of dwelled with you?
Like, what kind of
a person is she?
- Because she knows
you deserved it.
- Oh, yeah, great.
But the joke'’s kind of
on you, though,
because you were out
for revenge, and, you know,
you got nothing
out of it so, bye-bye.
[bleep].
Sad excuse for a person.
[phone line trills]
- Hello.
- Hi, Mary?
- Hi.
- I know things were
a little heated earlier,
and we were hoping
that maybe we could
come by without Paris
and get your side of the story.
- Great. We will be
over there shortly.
- Bye.
- Hey, come on in.
- Hey.
- Hi, okay, thanks.
- Sorry for how things
got started earlier,
and I would like to explain that
and why I did it for so long.
Paris really hurt me,
like, devastated my life.
I packed up.
I left my grandparents.
I left, you know,
my whole life behind
for somebody that said she had
my back through it all.
She promised me up and down
she was going to love me,
take care of me,
we would figure it out together.
- Was it understood that you,
your mom, and your son
were all going to live
in the house with Paris'’s mom?
- That'’s what she told me, yes.
But when we got there, Paris
dropped me off at the shelter
with my son and my mom.
She convinced me
that she was in it
for the long haul,
and then all of the sudden,
the light switch changes.
That'’s how quick it was.
- But you can'’t
blame her completely.
She was 19;
that doesn'’t mean
she should just be able
to say and do
whatever she wants and not claim
responsibility for herself.
- Right.
- But you have to at least
appreciate that, like,
she was excited
and wanted things to work out
and then quickly discovered
that they may not be
as easy as she hoped.
- I mean, I acknowledge
that she was young.
Like, I get that.
- Right.
- And I may have been
on a different level
than she was emotionally,
but I wanted the love,
the affection
that she said
I was going to get.
- Okay,
so here'’s the real question.
If you'’re the five-year-older,
more reasonable person
who'’s telling us
that everything Paris says
is, like, totally wrong...
- Mm-hmm.
- Why did you spend
all this time catfishing her?
- It hasn'’t, you know,
always been malicious.
It was, at one point,
very malicious.
I felt like I was
doing something
to hurt her like she hurt me,
and it started as revenge.
But I kept thinking about her,
and I'’m like, "Is she okay?"
I stayed up all night
and talked to this girl
and listened to her cry.
As Tara, I wanted
to protect her,
and I think that'’s
why I kind of stayed
along with Paris for so long.
The friendship did grow;
I'’m not going to lie.
- So you liked having
communication with Paris?
- After a while, yes.
This is the last lie
in my life,
and I'’m ready
for it to be gone.
- So it sounds like
if there'’s anything left
between you and Paris
that might actually be
therapeutic and helpful,
it'’s for you to sit down
and for you to tell her
how you feel
and how she made you feel.
And that'’s it.
- I agree.
- So if you'’re willing
to consider
meeting back up tomorrow...
- Mm-hmm.
- With Paris.
- I hope she will come and,
you know, at least
try to listen.
- This episode of "Catfish:
The TV Show" continues now.
- I'’m a little angry.
I am a little frustrated
that someone could spend so much
of their time playing games.
I am still confused
about what emotion
is driving Mary,
what makes her so angry
about this whole situation,
but I'’m willing to continue
to try to understand.
- Okay, let'’s do it.
- Hey, guys.
- Hey.
- Come on in.
- All right, thanks.
All right, so here we are.
We have lots of questions
and so far, no real answers.
We were just curious, like,
how did you find that Dana girl?
- Through my cousin'’s Facebook.
- You don'’t know Dana.
- Not at all.
- Your cousin'’s friends
with her?
- Mm-hmm.
- In real life
or just on Facebook?
- Yeah, they went to high school
together.
- How were you
kind of doing it
with all the different accounts?
And how did--
- Multiple messengers
on one computer.
There'’s an app for it.
- Wow, crafty.
- So you were really
talking to yourself
when Mary was talking to Tara.
- Yeah.
- That'’s weird.
- Sorry.
- No.
- We talked a little bit
about you
kind of saying
whatever it is
that you want
and need to say
and would like Paris here.
She'’s willing to listen.
- Yeah, just bear with me
as I read it.
"I'’m writing this
because I think it'’s better
"to focus on my feelings
and put them down on paper.
"Yes, I did catfish you.
"Yes, it was wrong of me to do.
"I had you believing
I was someone I was not,
"that you indeed
were in love with.
"Over time, revenge
became less of a goal
"and turned into more
of a compassion and concern
"as I witnessed so much
you were going through
"and the hard times
you dealt with.
"I was there for you.
"I started to build
a friendship with you as Tara,
"but still even then, the true
and genuine care was me.
"Not only was I there for you,
"but you were there
for me as well.
"I finally felt like I had
gained the love and respect
I wanted all along."
- I don'’t know where to begin,
to be honest.
I'’m sorry for
what I put you through.
I made mistakes.
I was young.
Maybe at one point,
I did promise you
a certain part of me
and you felt
as though you didn'’t get that.
So I am sympathetic,
and I am apologetic for that.
- You were young
at the time.
You were still in school.
I should'’ve realized
then and there
that I was making the mistake
going all that way
and not knowing enough
and maybe not having
a structured plan.
But you also had me believing,
you know, both of us would get
through it together.
It wasn'’t fair to you or me.
But, you know, I'’ll always
be there for you
if you need somebody.
It'’s like--and I'’m not
asking you for your friendship.
I'’m not asking you...
- Yeah, no, I got you.
- For communication.
But I'’ll leave
that door open.
- I'’m sorry.
- I'’m sorry.
- It'’s okay.
I don'’t dwell
on negative stuff.
It'’s kind of like, it happened.
- Yeah.
- You know, it feels like--
- I think we'’re
at a good place now.
- Yeah, you guys
have sort of gotten
through the tough parts.
You'’ve expressed your feelings.
- I'’m just glad
it'’s finally out there
and we can both move on.
All right.
Thank you all.
- ♪ Too good
to be good for me ♪
♪ Too bad
that that'’s all I need ♪
♪ Too good to be good for me
♪ Too bad
that that'’s all I need ♪
- Okay, well, there you go.
♪
- ♪ Too bad that that'’s
all I need ♪
♪ All I need
[computer ringing]
- Hey, Paris.
- Hey, Paris.
- Bonjour, Paris!
- How you doing?
- I'’m doing good.
- Have you talked to Maryat all?
- She did text me
and was like, you know,
"Let'’s meet up."
And she met me at the hotel.
- Really?
- Yeah.
She came with her wife
and her son.
I was like, "Okay."
- And have you guys
had any contact since that day?
- No.
Basically, with everything
that was said and done,
we'’re just not going to talk,
but her coming to me
was kind of, like, just
that much more closure.
- Well, Paris,
it'’s great talking to you.
- See you.
- Bye, Paris.
[computer ringing]
- Hey. How are you?
- Everything is great.
- How are things with Paris?
- I got my closure
letting her know it was me.
Now she can live her life
and I can live mine.
I still have concerns for her.
I feel like there'’s a part of
me that needs to protect her,
'’cause I know
people hurt her a lot,
but I also know I hurt her.
- I think both you and Paris
learned a lot from this.
- Thank you all so much
for the opportunity.
- Good luck with everything.
- Hopefully we'’ll see you soon.
- All right, thanks.
Bye, guys.
- Bye, Mary.
- "My ex-online girlfriend
just ruined
my real-life relationship."
This girl is stalking you.
- Basically.
- Whoa.
- I would see text messages
like,
"I wish you were here
licking my [bleep]."
- All the windows are, like,
blacked out.
[tense music]
981
00:41:03.