Catfish: The TV Show (2012–…): Season 8, Episode 14 - Dustin & Keegan - full transcript

- Dustin had
a rough childhood.

Turned to Facebook,
found Keegan.

- It was always
a hot and cold situation.

He would act like
we were together.

Then he would turn around
and get a boyfriend.

- Something ain't right.

- What is this?

- That's him.
- What?

- What the [bleep] is going on?

- I didn't say that.
What just happened?

- Oh, my God.



[dramatic musical sting]

[upbeat music]

♪ ♪

- Why can't I join?

Of course.

My Internet's not working.

- Biggie, get to see
your mommy at work!

- ♪ Let's go! ♪

- My camera's on.

Okay.

- Was this plugged
into something?

No.

You know, it's 2020.

I still can't get my internet
to work.



- All signed in to Zoom,

but Nev's late.

Biggie, we're waiting
on Uncle Nev.

Talent these days.
Such a doofus.

[upbeat rock music]

- Yes!
Up and running.

Your router is now configured.

- This is all I'm good for.

[phone chimes]
We got a text!

Nev says, "Hey!
Exclamation point,

exclamation point,
exclamation point."

[upbeat music]

- Oh, yeah, why don't I just
Zoom her in?

♪ ♪

- Oh!
Ah!

He's watching me!

- I was hoping
you wouldn't notice.

[laughs]

- Wow, well, thank you
for joining us.

- I rewired my whole Internet.

I unplugged everything,
re-plugged everything.

Anyway, let's just get down
to it, all right?

I'm gonna open--
I'm gonna open up

the old email here.

All right, I got an email here
from Dustin.

"Dear Nev--"
- And Kamie.

- [laughs]

"My name is Dustin.

"I'm a 24-year-old living
in sunny Florida.

"Back when I was
in high school, circumstances

"forced me out to
my deeply religious family."

- God.
- Yeah.

- ♪ Never opened up ♪

♪ Never felt like
I was being honest ♪

- "I turned to Facebook
in hopes of finding someone

"who understood
what I was going through,

and I found Keegan."

- ♪ Now, every time
I close my eyes ♪

♪ It's you, ooh-ooh ♪

- "I was probably about 16
at the time.

"But we exchanged numbers

"and started talking
almost every day.

"Keegan was everything
I wanted.

"He was out, proud,

and he told me
to be the same."

- ♪ You ♪

♪ Can see the light
and help me find the truth ♪

- ♪ I see the light ♪

- "Keegan ended up being
my safe harbor.

"I was able to take refuge
with him

"during the stormy times
in my life.

"We began flirting,
and while Keegan

"lived far away in Vermont,

"I thought we were moving
towards a relationship.

"Then one day, he told me
he was moving to Boston.

"He told me to come to Boston

"and move in with him.
I agreed.

"Then, when it was time,

"he told me he'd gotten
into a relationship

with someone else
and was moving in with him."

- ♪ I was lost, but you're
the one who found me ♪

- "I was heartbroken.

"That being said,
Keegan was also my rock.

"Whenever I had something bad
going on,

"I could reach out to him,
and he'd help me through it.

"A few months ago,
Keegan and I reconnected,

and things seemed
to be heating up again."

- Uh-oh.
- "Being pent up in quarantine

"all these weeks has caused me
to think more and more

about Keegan and the past
eight years."

- Eight years?

- "But we've never even
video chatted."

- Oh, my God.

- "Can you please
help me find out

"if Keegan is legitimate

and see if there's any hope
of making this really work?"

"Thank you, Dustin."

All right, so hold on a second.

Dustin obviously needs
some help.

He gave us his number.

I'm gonna text him.

"Hey, Dustin."

- Dustin has been
through a lot, you know?

I can understand why...

Dustin would be
so hung up on this guy.

But at the same time,
if, after eight years,

you haven't video chatted
somebody...

- Exactly.

All right--
oh, he texted me back!

He said, "Hey, what's up?"
Great.

I think he's gonna join--hey!

- Hey!
- Hey!

- What is up?

- Chilling during
this quarantine, I guess.

- Same.
- Where are you?

- I'm in Florida.
- How's life down there?

- Everything is, like,
opening back up with--

now it's all a mix of, like,

you don't know who's, like,
still quarantining,

and, like, what the rules are.

It's complicated.

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- But I was in Ohio,

helping my mom
quarantine for COVID.

- Well, I'm sure
she appreciated the help.

- Yeah.
She was grateful.

I mean, she has her other kids

up there as well, but...
- Yeah.

- So she has kids
with another guy in Ohio?

- Yeah, my stepfather
is my brother's father, yeah.

- Does your mom still live
with your stepdad?

- No.
[laughs]

They've been separated
for a while.

- Got it.
- And you've had some...

interesting situations
with him.

- Yeah, you could say that.
[laughs]

My first boyfriend ever--

he outed me to my stepfather.

And he took me to his church

and tried to make you,
like, pray...

your gayness away or whatever.

- It really boggles my mind

that people think
that conversion therapy works

and should even be a thing.

It should be illegal.
- Yeah.

- Been through a lot.
- Most definitely.

I've kinda been more distant
and, like, had walls up.

And Keegan, like, just,
the only person

there for me
when no one else is.

[somber music]

That's why I want to make sure

the person I've been talking
to is real.

I've had, like, time
during this quarantine

to kind of think about, like...

There's a lot of
unresolved stuff that's there.

I mean, I go on dates,
I don't really

catch feelings like that,
like, I don't know,

but maybe it's just him
holding me back.

- Mm-hmm.
- Hmm.

- How did you meet Keegan?
- Halfway through high school.

After conversion therapy,
I was just looking

for someone to talk to.

But we met on Facebook.

The "people you may know"
thing.

It started off
with Facebook messages,

then us texting.

[upbeat electronic music]

And then talking on the phone
all day, every day.

Keegan has just always had
something, like, special.

I just look at him as, like,
my foundation

of my whole, like, coming out.

It's the most personal
relationship

I've ever had with anybody.

- Well, did you guys
fall in love?

Did you establish, like,
a relationship?

Were you boyfriends?
- That's the thing.

After, like, you're talking
to somebody

every day, all day, like,
you just end up

developing feelings
for each other.

But it was kind of...

always a hot and cold
situation.

He would act
like we were together,

but then he would turn around
and get a boyfriend,

and then we'd stop talking.

- But you've remained in touch,
'cause you're still talking

to him, right?
- Yes.

He'd first talk back

after I dated a person
for two years.

It was very toxic.
It was...

kind of like
a domestic violence situation.

- Hmm.
- And, like,

I had messaged Keegan
on Facebook.

I told him I wanted to talk,

and, like, he said
he would be there for me.

Felt like no time had passed.

He just helped me, like,

out of that
really bad situation.

Like, it was the hardest thing
I've ever had to do.

And then he ghosted me.

- And he obviously came back.

- Yes, well,
a couple months ago,

my best friend
since sixth grade, Chloe--

she's seen how walled up
I've been,

and, like, she wants me
to be happy, so, like,

she knew Keegan is
what I wanted for my life.

[upbeat music]

So she hit up Keegan
for me on Snapchat.

They had, like,
a little conversation,

and then she gave him
my Snap afterwards.

And that's when I got a message
on Snapchat

after I got a new Snapchat,

and picked back up
like it was before.

- And what does Chloe
think about all of this?

Because obviously,
if you've known her

since the sixth grade,
she's seen you

through all
of your relationships.

Has she ever tried to, like,

mend the fences with any

of your other exes?
- No.

- Yeah, usually,
it's the best friend

who's, like,
encouraging a person

in your situation
to, you know, move on

and, like, forget about

the weird Internet relationship
they've been in.

- Yeah, it's weird,
but she's just looking out

for my best interests, I guess.

- Hmm.
- So let's get back to Keegan.

So he's about the same age
as you.

He lives in Boston,
but, like, what's his deal?

- I guess he is some sort of...

luxury, like, real estate agent
or something.

I don't know.
That's what I was told.

- He lives alone?

- That's what he tells me,
but I see, like,

him posting
these fancy apartments,

and I don't see how he's able
to afford 'em.

I don't know.
It's weird.

- Maybe he's a sugar baby.

- Yeah, right?
That's what crossed my mind.

Because he was supposed
to come visit me,

and then he's like,
"Yeah, I don't have the money."

And the next day he goes,
he's in Vegas.

Like, that just strikes me odd.

- He's on Snapchat,
you're on Snapchat.

Why don't you...

like, why doesn't he
send you videos?

Or Snaps of him?
- I send selfies.

And we've sexted recently.

But he doesn't ever send,
like, live photos.

- Wow.

And you guys have only talked
on, like,

Snapchat
and Facebook Messenger?

You've never had a phone call?

- When we were little,
we would talk

on the phone, like, every day,
but recently, we haven't--

we've only been talking
on Snapchat and text recently.

- But when you were younger,

you specifically remember
it being a guy...

- Oh.
- You were talking to.

- Yeah, yeah.
- I mean...

It's hard to say.
- Yeah, yeah.

- People can really mask
their voices.

We've seen smart people
get fooled.

I'm just saying.

- Well, how can we
best see him?

- I have his old Facebook,

and like, I'm blocked
on his new Facebook.

You guys could go
on his Facebook, I think.

- That's so weird
that you're blocked

from his Facebook.

- Let me share the screen here.

What's his Facebook?
- It's Keegan Montana.

It's his Facebook name.

- All right, so it says
he lives in Boston.

He's from Vermont.
Says he's single.

- But do you see that quote
on his page?

Is that a sign?

- "Don't let your ignorance
blind your eyes

"from seeing [bleep]
the way it really is.

Keep it 100."

Okay, so on one hand,
Keegan is very shady.

But on the other hand,

he has been "a rock" for you,

emotionally,
for almost a decade.

So, like, what are you hoping
this becomes?

I want to be as close
as we were before.

Like, he's told me he's single,

and I feel like we could
fall in love again,

'cause I am interested in him,
and he's been--

this person's
always been there for me.

Like, that's incredibly
attractive to me.

Like, that could be
a good foundation for, like,

a really good relationship.

But he's hiding something,
or it's something weird.

- Well, if it's weird,

we usually find out about it,
so...

I'm ready to get to work.

- We are on the case!

- [laughs] Thanks.
Bye.

- Bye!
- We'll talk soon.

I like Dustin!
He's a good guy.

This kid has had
such a crazy life.

He's been burned, but he's used
all that experience

to sort of, hopefully,
better himself

and know what to look out for.

And yet, here he is,
dealing with this guy

for eight years,
and he still, strangely,

can, like, justify it.

- I think that
that emotional connection

that they made
during his coming out

is what is holding him...

in a situation that he clearly
can see is not right.

- Right.
- Could be anybody.

But my main thought is,

Keegan...

is Chloe.
- Right!

- And Chloe was trying
to be there for Dustin

when he was going
through a hard time,

she knew he needed somebody
to talk to,

she created Keegan,

and now it's just kind of spun
out of control.

- Yeah, I mean, for a second,

I was thinking it could be
Dustin's ex, but you're right.

Because Chloe's the only one

who knew Dustin long enough
to fit the timeline.

- It sucks--is what it is.
- Yeah.

- Something ain't right.

And its name is Chloe.

[uplifting music]

- Kamie! Kamie! Kamie!

- Hey, girl!

I miss you, girl.

- I love you!
- Here, wait, wait.

- How are you?
- Oh, she said, "I love you."

- Look, this is my baby!

His name is Biggie.
- Look at that dog!

- [giggles]

- Okay, bye, Biggie.

- All right, well, Cleo,
we're gonna do more work.

Is that okay?

- Well, do you want to do
some of your schoolwork?

- Nev, you can leave.
- All right.

You know what,
you don't need me.

- Cleo and I
will do the episode. [laughs]

- All right, I'm gonna go.

- So Cleo,
here's the tea, girl.

Dustin has been talking
to Keegan,

and Keegan has never met
Dustin before,

never even on FaceTime!

- Oh.
- Do you think

he's telling the truth,

or do you think
he's telling a lie?

- A lie.
- But he should meet him

and confront him...

and say, "Why did you lie?"
- Yeah.

- Well, you solved it.
You did it!

The episode is over!

- Sure.
- [laughs]

[Cleo giggles]
- All right.

- Bye.

- So what
are we dealing with here?

We got Dustin,
a 24-year-old guy

who had a rough childhood.

He finally meets
this great guy on Facebook,

they hit it off,
he's cute, he's out,

he's super encouraging,

and obviously,
Dustin likes this guy,

feels like there could be
a relationship there.

But he lives in Florida.
Keegan lives in Vermont.

- Boston now.

- And somehow,
Dustin holds out hope

that one day, they will meet,

and he's prepared
to start a relationship.

- And he has
his best friend Chloe.

It seems like she wants them
to try to mend the fences.

- She had contacted Keegan
and said,

"Hey, you should reach back out
to Dustin."

- I don't know.

I feel like
she's involved somehow.

- You felt that way
from the jump.

- The jump!

- So here's what he's got.

"I'm blocked
from his new Facebook,

"but here are links
to his old ones.

"Here's the number I've been
talking to Keegan on recently.

"Thank you again for helping.

"I'm really hoping that you'll
have good news for me

in the next few hours.
Dustin."

All right.
What do we need to find out?

I mean, I'm always drawn
to the pictures of the guy

to see if it's just
some obvious model,

boy, or club thing.
- Mm-hmm.

All right, I'm opening up one
of these Facebook pages here

so we can try
and get some more photos.

Oh, he's only got 37 friends.

[inquisitive music]

- This is an ass account.

- All right, so this account's
basically nothing.

Let's try this other one.

All right, well, this one
he hasn't posted on since 2015.

So these are old.

I mean...
- Hm.

- Oh, I wonder if he's friends
with Dustin on...

- Yeah.
- So yeah, that's him.

- Mm-hmm.

- Here's a recent pic.

Ah!
And look who liked it!

- Cray Cray Chloe!

Is that a sign?
- Cray Cray Chloe!

So she lives in Florida.

♪ ♪

Let's just send Cray Cray
a may-may.

- [laughs]
- "Hey, Cray Cray.

"We're helping
your friend Dustin

and wanted to chat."

All right, great.
All right.

Here's his current page.

So let's download
some of these,

because these are the pictures
we want to search.

[suspenseful music]

All right,
let's start with this one.

No.

♪ ♪

- Hmm.
- No.

- Hmm...
- Nothing. All right.

Let's just take
a closer look here

at Keegan's page, the one
that weirdly blocked Dustin.

So he posts a lot of stuff
about how to be safe

with the quarantine
and social distancing.

He's posting a lot,
and he's got 400 friends,

but no one seems to comment.
- No.

He gets, like, one share
every now and then.

This account
is a little shaky to me.

"Me and my BFFs in 50 years."

There's one comment
under that one.

- Oh. "Oh, my God,
that would be us..."

Someone seems to be
their good friend, I guess.

- Kyle [bleep].
- Who is this?

All right.
- That photo looks like Keegan.

- Yeah.
- Who's that older man?

Is that this Kyle guy?

- I think it is.
- I think it is.

- Oh, here's more photos.
Hold on.

Whoa, look!
- Mm!

- Whoever this guy is,

he's very good friends
with Keegan.

He dresses in drag sometimes.

What's up with the heart?

Are they together?

But where's Keegan in all this?

Why isn't he commenting
on these pictures?

- Right.
This is super strange.

- Is that him?
- That's him.

- Why aren't people tagged?

What else does he have
on his timeline here?

♪ ♪

- Wait a second, look at this.
[Kamie gasps]

He posted, like,
a "Dear Best Friend."

"Keegan, even though
I can't tag you,

this is for you."

So he can't tag him.
Weird.

"I'm very lucky to meet you,
to know you, and to have you.

Thank you for being there
in times of need."

- Why can't he tag Keegan?

Unless Keegan blocked Kyle.

He blocked Dustin.

- What is this?
What is--

- "What you know
about hustling?"

Do we think that Kyle
is Keegan's sugar daddy?

- Well, wait.
Where does Kyle live?

♪ ♪

- Massachusetts!

- So the only thing
we haven't done yet

is run the phone number

that Dustin's
currently talking to him on,

the new phone number.

♪ ♪

Oh!

- Kyle!
- Kyle!

Come on!

- Oh, no...

- What?

- [laughing]
Oh, no!

- Well, wait a second.

It could also be that Kyle

is Keegan's, like,
friend with money,

and who he went to live with.
- Sugar daddy.

- Sugar daddy.

And got him a phone.

But it also could be
that Kyle is Keegan.

- The gag!

Okay, I take back what I said.

I think I am wrong after all.

After seeing the number match
on Kyle

and all this new evidence,

Chloe may not have anything
to do with this.

My money's on Kyle.

Maybe Kyle did intercept
the conversations

when Chloe hit up Keegan
on Snapchat.

- And Kyle's like, "Ooh!
I want to talk to him."

And so he just texted
and was like,

"Hey, this is my new number."

But why would Kyle
make a fake profile

of his close friend...

and then why would
he start talking

to one of his friends' old,
like, flame?

- He's "Single White
Female"-ing Keegan.

Kyle is trying
to steel Keegan's life!

♪ ♪

[upbeat music]

- [indistinct]

Who's that?

- Baby Beau.

- Baby Beau!

Hi!

- Biggie,
you want to go outside?

Yes!

♪ ♪

It's time for our morning walk.

Good boy.

All right, Biggie,
I have work to do.

- Gotta go to work!
- Yeah.

[Beau babbles]

- There he goes.

- And he's off!

- All right.
- Here we go.

- This is rolling.
Hello!

There she is.
- Good morning.

Are you ready
to dive back into this?

Because I've been itching
to talk to Dustin

about everything we found.

- Did we get any messages
back from anybody?

- Oh, let's see.
I haven't even looked.

- Cray Cray Chloe...

doesn't seem to have
anything to say.

All right, let's get Dustin.

- Reel it in.

[suspenseful music]

- Oh.
- Oh!

- Hey!
- Hey!

- We have a lot to talk about,
okay?

- Okay.

- Here is Keegan's Facebook,

which you had told us
you were blocked from.

We kinda took a deeper dive,

and we noticed this comment.

"Oh, my God.
That would be us.

100% best friends."

So we clicked on this guy,
Kyle [bleep].

And we went to his page.

♪ ♪

- Cool.

- Kyle's banner photo

is a picture of him and Keegan.

- Has Keegan ever mentioned
a Kyle to you before?

- No.

- We were half-expecting that

you would've heard
about this guy.

Obviously, as you can see,

Kyle is a bit older.

But they clearly
know each other.

So we started looking
through his page.

Here he is with some family,
it looks like.

- Keegan.
He's with Keegan

in that photo.

- Here's another picture.
Keegan.

- Have you seen these photos,
Dustin?

- Mm-mm.
Nope, first time.

If they're dating,
it could explain

why he's being so weird.

- It's unclear.

- So maybe Keegan and Kyle
are in a relationship.

And...perhaps it's on and off,

or perhaps it's just on,

and he doesn't want
to tell you.

That would explain why he's
blocked you from this page,

so that you don't see that.

- I guess this would make

complete and total sense, like,

but why keep him a secret
for so long?

- Right.

There's a whole lot suggesting

that maybe they're
in a relationship...

but where's Keegan?

Why isn't he commenting?

- Keegan may have
had him blocked or something.

I don't even think
he was friends with Keegan.

- No.
- And then Kyle also...

had a post on his feed

of him talking
to Keegan directly.

But he put as the caption...

- That's really weird.
- Yeah.

- It's like, obsessive,
or, like...

It doesn't seem normal to me.

- Yeah,
something's definitely weird.

Is he a sugar daddy?
We don't know.

Then we researched
the current phone number

you have for him,
and look what came back.

Kyle [bleep].

♪ ♪

Weird.

Why does Keegan's phone number

come back registered to Kyle?

- So that's not creepy
or anything.

Could Kyle be catfishing me
as Keegan?

- It's possible.

- I could've started off
talking to Keegan,

and then later,
started talking to Kyle.

- That is exactly
what we were thinking

might have happened.

- Also, the possibility that

you were always talking
to Kyle,

and Kyle had a friend
named Keegan

or whoever this guy is,

and he's just been
using his photos

to talk to young guys online.

- That's some predator [bleep].

- So that kind of leaves us now
at this crossroads

where we have to decide
what we want to do.

So let's check out
Kyle's page...

and just see, like,
who was commenting, posting,

if he has any friends
that we can reach out to.

- Oh!

- Oh, yeah, so here.

Keri posted this and said...

So this girl
obviously knows Kyle.

So let's message her.
She's in Boston.

All right.
Messaging.

Sent.
Okay, so wait a second.

If it's been Kyle
this whole time,

then what happened
to real Keegan?

Where is he?

Does he know
that Kyle's talking to you?

- And also, what is
his relationship with Kyle?

- I don't know.
It doesn't make

any sense to me.

[phone ringing]
- Right.

- Ooh.

- Boston.

Hello?

- It is Nev.
Hi, who's this?

- Keri, hi!

Thanks for getting back to me
so quick.

I mean, that was fast.

- Yeah, so we're trying
to help a guy

who's been friends
with this guy named Keegan

for a really long time online.

And Keegan and Kyle
seem to be really good friends.

So we're just trying
to find out

a little bit more about Kyle,

and then, ideally,
speak to him,

and see what he can tell us
about Keegan.

[suspenseful music]

- I didn't say that.
- Ooh...

- [stammers]

Oh, I didn't say that.

- Ooh...

- Have you known Kyle
to catfish people before?

- Elaborate.

- Yeah, so what type
of weird situations

does he get himself into?

- Okay, and--

- [whispering] Ask her
if he's a sugar daddy.

- Have you ever
known Kyle to...

be a sugar daddy?

- No, no, no!
[stammers]

- But you don't know him
to, like,

date younger boys who he kinda,
like, helps out,

or gives money
and stuff like that, do you?

- That's fine.
Well, yeah, and you're--

- Right.

- Don't worry.
That's fine.

You've already helped us,
so thank you for that.

- All right.
Bye.

- She sounded
like she was covering for him.

- Yeah.
- Oh, yeah.

- Okay, so unless
Kyle and Keegan share a phone,

seems like you've been
talking to Kyle

for at least
the last few months

since you got
that new phone number,

and possibly this whole time.

What does that mean for you?

- It creeps me out.

Like, I've said things and...
shared personal things.

It's an invasion of my privacy.
That's not right.

I have a friendship
with Keegan,

or a flirtationship, whatever.

Like, that's not between
me and him.

I mean... he can keep
his own life over there.

- Then that just raises
the question of, like,

"Okay, well, then what happened
to real Keegan?"

Does he know that Kyle's
talking to you?

- Yeah, it's like,
what's going on?

- All right, so what else
can we do right now?

Is there anyone else that--
- Call the number.

- Ooh.
- We can call Keegan.

Well, that's aggressive.
- I'm aggressive.

- Okay, so I'm gonna text
the new number

that you have for "Keegan."

"Hey, Keegan, I got your number
from your friend, Dustin."

- Are you okay, Dustin?
- It's frustrating.

- I don't know anything yet.
It's just suspicions, like...

It's sus AF, but I'm not one
to jump to conclusions

until I have, like,
all the facts,

but, like, I don't understand
what's going on.

- So if Keegan's
still using his phone,

he should be getting--
[computer chimes]

[tense music]

Hey!
- Oh!

- What's up, Kyle?

- Hi.

♪ ♪

- Oh!

What just happened?
- What was that?

- Oh, my God.

- So if Keegan's

still using his phone,

he should be getting that--
[computer chimes]

[tense music]

Hey!
- Oh!

- What's up, Kyle?

- Hi!

- Wow!
Welcome!

Oh!

What just happened?
What--

- What was that?
- I'm shook.

- It looks like he clicked
on the Zoom link,

maybe not realizing that
it would put him in the Zoom,

and he wasn't ready for that,
maybe.

- Or he wasn't thinking that
Dustin was gonna be in here,

and he's like,
"Oh, [bleep].

Bye."
- Oh, maybe.

- But what the--
what was that?

- I don't know.
That was weird.

I'm gonna text him.
"Hey--"

[computer chimes]
- Hello?

- Whoa. Hello?
- Hello?

- Yeah, is this Kyle?

- No, this--
this is Keegan.

- Keegan!

- Yeah. Hi.
- What's up?

- Hi.
- Hey...

- How's it going?
- How'd you get the Zoom link?

- I just got a text message
from Kyle.

- Oh, yeah, well,
that makes sense, I guess.

I-I'm Nev,
this is Kamie,

and that's Dustin.

I--do you know Dustin?
- Hey...

I do.
[laughs]

- Okay, so how
do you know Dustin?

- We met back when I was in,
like, middle school,

um... over Facebook. [laughs]

- So wait a second.
So okay, so Dustin...

this is...Keegan now.

You haven't said anything.

- Yeah, so it's weird.

- What the [bleep] is going on?

- This phone's--
that's what I'm saying.

- This is kind of strange.
[laughs]

- So, like, I've talked to you,

like, this whole time.

Like, it hasn't been
nobody else.

It's been...you, correct?

♪ ♪

- Yes.
Yep.

- So why haven't you been able

to meet up with Dustin
all these years?

- Um, well, there's been, like,
several reasons.

In the beginning,
when I first met Dustin,

I was in a really tough spot.

I was in foster care, so...

that wasn't really a thing that
I could try to sneak around,

'cause if I did,
there were gonna be...

big, you know,
big consequences for that.

♪ ♪

- You know, I was adopted,

and, like,
I went through foster care,

and, like, the stuff
with my father, so, like...

- Mm-hmm.
- You've never went

into detail, like...

only a little bit, like,
your hard circumstances.

Like, I just didn't understand,
like, why you wouldn't...

tell me about some
of that stuff.

- At the time, it's not
something that I was...

comfortable talking about.

But I'm definitely more...

open about that now.

And another time,
I was down in Florida, but...

I was actually down there
to just get away

because I was dealing
with the death of my boyfriend.

Um...

That's when I, like,
had mentioned to Dustin,

"Oh, maybe, like,
we could hang out,"

but I'm just--
I was not in the right...

frame of mind.
Um...

- So...why do I have
someone else's number?

- I was borrowing, um,
an acquaintance's phone

because I was
kinda strapped for cash.

So I had my phone shut off,

and I was just using his phone.

I gave that back to him,

and my phone's back on now.
[laughs]

- And the Snapchat is also you?

- Oh, yeah.
My Snapchat's me.

And my Facebook,
Keegan Montana.

That's me.

- So why is Dustin blocked
on your Facebook?

- I think that's
an old Facebook.

Like, I've had it
for several years.

And I think that was when...

I, like, stopped talking
to Dustin

'cause we were just getting
in too over our heads.

I guess.
- Did you know he was blocked?

- I didn't until you actually
just said that, no.

- What's the mystery behind
your friend Kyle?

Like...

- Yeah, so he's actually,
um...

yeah, so we've hung out
a few times.

I haven't actually--
I don't hang out with him

or really talk to him much
anymore.

The most communication
we've had recently

is, like, him lending me
an extra phone that he had.

- Aha.
- But he...is kinda too much.

- I'm gonna just come out
and say it.

Is Kyle,
and has he ever been,

your sugar daddy?

- Oh, hell, no!

Girl!

I have come from the bottom up
all on my own, honey.

- Because he has, like,
he has...

wads of cash...

- Oh, I got my own money, girl.
[laughs]

'Cause I have a job.

- I get that you're you,
and that you've been...

- Yeah.
- Real the whole time,

but you do und--
you understand that

you are kinda weird and shady.

- In hindsight,
I unknowingly...

made myself seem like a catfish
or not necessarily who I was,

and now that it's, like,
all coming to light, I'm like,

"Okay, I could see definitely

why you would think, like,
you know, I'm not me,"

for sure.

- So Dustin mentions that

in the time that you guys
have known each other,

obviously, some discussions

about potentially
seeing each other

and for moving to live
with each other.

Which I think, to him,
suggested that

there was a real interest in...

you know, some sort of
meaningful relationship

in a romantic way.

- Is that--
- Yeah, um--

- Am I--I mean, is that right?
Or am I--I mean--

- Yeah, so at one point,

I definitely did consider it.

And I just decided that
it was best for me and Dustin

to keep it...just friends.
[laughs]

- But you told him
to move to Boston

to be with you at one point.

- Yeah, that must've been
a few years back.

I just was not actually in...

the best place to,
so I don't know

why I would have even
have mentioned that. [laughs]

I love Dustin as a friend.
I care about him.

If something ever happened
to him,

oh, my God, I'd be, like,
so heartbroken.

- But did you ever love him,
like, in a romantic way?

- Uh, not in a romantic way.

- Dustin, how do you feel?

- How does that feel?
Like...

I feel like when we were...

like, talking, like, I just...

I'm glad that, like,
he is who he says he is.

Like, just...

[somber music]

I don't know, just...

I don't know if I've actually--

but I think I've--
I don't know.

Maybe I was never
in love with Keegan.

- I-I feel in my heart...

that everyone is not being
completely honest

and up front
with their emotions.

So until that happens--

- What more is there to, like--
what do you mean?

Be honest about my emotions?

- Look, we've got
to be honest here.

Dustin, you told us that you
had real feelings for Keegan,

deeper feelings that,
even if he didn't have them,

you felt them at the time.

- I--

I will say, like...

there's, like,
always curious feelings

when, like, you're a baby gay,
like...

there's, like,
all these intense emotions.

You'll, like,
make stupid choices like,

"I'm in love with you,"
but, like...

those don't mean anything
'cause it's infatuation.

- All right, so...

we have--we have a lot
to talk about.

I just think it'd be good
for us to take a break,

and then we can check back in
with you.

- All right, sounds good.

- Okay.

All right, Dustin,
so what do you think?

- He kinda seems, like,
downplayed, like,

just--I don't know.
Like--

- Well, that's why
I was asking,

"What are your real feelings?"

'cause I honestly feel like

you both are downplaying
right now.

Like, not one person
wants to be more, like,

outwardly expressive
or emotional than the other.

- Are you not that into him,

or is it, like,
kind of a letdown

finally seeing him?
- No, he's super cute.

Like, I'm just not--
I'm just--

I'm afraid to be, like, weak.

Like, ever since
my last relationship,

it's, like, made me close up.

Like, I don't like showing
any type of weakness.

- We gotta get
[bleep] honest here

because this is the first time
in eight years

that you're talking
to this person...

face-to-face as best as we can
during this time.

What's the point
in not getting it out

all on the table?

- I'd like to give you a minute
just to...

not be looking
at your computer,

and seeing yourself,

and, like, distracted
by all this stuff.

Just to sort of process
what just happened.

Take a minute.

Kamie and I are gonna chat
with Keegan,

and then we'll get you back

and we'll all kind of
talk again.

- All right.

- These two...

my goodness.

For the first time
in eight years,

you get to talk to this person
face-to-face

and say everything
you want to say,

and I get that, like,
the first reaction is just

a little strange, but...
- Yeah.

- They're not being real.

They're not being real.

[suspenseful music]

- These two...

My goodness.

They're not being real.

- This is a person
that got Dustin

through
some very difficult times,

who supported him coming out.

His hopes are high
they can finally be together.

Now, strangely, I can't tell
what either of them want.

- I just go back
to Dustin's original email,

which was very, like,
emotionally driven.

So I almost feel like us...

reading that to Keegan
would maybe

soften him up a little bit.
- Yeah.

Probably a good idea.

- Bring Keegan back
so we can just talk this out.

- Okay.
- Because...

there's missing pieces.

[computer chimes]
- All right.

Hey!
- Oh!

- Hello.
- Welcome back.

- Keegan, just real talk,
now that it's just us,

we're very relieved
that this whole situation

wasn't some twisted
catfish scenario.

- Right.
- So that--that's good.

What's confusing for us was,

it just seemed
a little strange,

despite the circumstances,
that you guys

didn't really express
what we would assume

two longtime friends

sort of meeting
for the first time would do.

Um...
- Um...

- I guess that's kind of
my fault.

We were really great
at helping each other out

as, like,
emotional and mental support.

And I'm...

I've always been, like,
willing to be there

for Dustin on that aspect,

but when I give him a little,
he takes it all.

He's kind of, like,
that type of person.

So, like...

I know it's not
the right thing to do,

but I guess I kinda, like,
cut him off.

I kinda just, like,
backed away.

And I guess that's also
what I did with Kyle.

Like, he kind of...

became too attached,
I guess you could say,

and I backed away.

So I kind of, like,
do that with people.

- When Dustin contacted us,

his email to us
was very loving,

and it expressed, you know,
real emotion for you...

- Deep feelings.
- And an attachment to you.

- Just--it would be helpful

for you to hear the email
he sent us.

Kinda better understand
where he's coming from.

- Absolutely, yeah.

- So he introduces himself

and explains that
when he came out,

his stepfather
was not approving of that,

and he was going
through a hard time.

And then he said, "I got lucky.
I found Keegan.

"I was probably only about 16
at the time,

"but we exchanged numbers

"and started talking
on the phone

"almost every day.

"Keegan was everything
I wanted to be.

"He was out and proud,
and he told me to be the same.

"Keegan ended up being
my safe harbor.

"I was able to take refuge
with him

"during the stormy times
in my life.

"We began flirting,
and while Keegan lived far away

"in Vermont,
I thought we were moving

"towards a relationship.

"Then one day, he told me
he was moving to Boston.

"He told me to come to Boston
and move in with him.

"I agreed, and then,
when it was time,

"he told me he got
into a relationship

"with someone else
and was moving in with him.

"It was heartbreaking.

"That being said,
Keegan was also my rock.

"Whenever I had something bad
going on,

"I could reach out to him,

"and he'd help me
get through it.

"Can you please help me
find out

"if Keegan is legitimate

and see if there's any hope
of making this work?"

- Sorry.
[laughs]

Um.
Yeah, that...

I guess I don't realize, like,

how much I impacted...
you know, him.

I appreciate you reading that.

I'm glad I heard it. [laughs]
Um...

[gentle music]

Yeah.

- You've helped him
through a really dark time

in his life, and that's...
- Yeah.

- Something to be admired.

I just want to ask you again,
and don't feel any pressure,

if you do have
any true feelings for Dustin

other than just friendship.

- Um...

I can't say no.
You know.

I can't say yes.
[laughs]

- So let's bring in our guy.

♪ ♪

[computer chimes]

- Hey.
- We're back.

- So who wants
to start things off?

- [sighs]
Sorry.

I just need
to clear my head for a second.

[somber music]

Ugh, this is a lot.
Okay, um...

♪ ♪

Sorry.

Yeah, so,
I didn't realize that...

what I had helped you through,

you still carried on your back,
you know?

And it kind of makes me
feel like an asshole,

knowing how you feel,
and again, I'm sorry.

I kind of just, like,
backed away.

I kinda, like, do that.

I just kinda ghosted you.

Yeah.
[sighs]

- Like, what are you running
away from, right?

You've done this to me before,
where we got super serious,

and you just pushed me
out of your life,

and, like, that was super hard
to deal with.

Like... that's kind of, like,
what made me, like,

just lose respect for, like,
dudes in general.

Like...basically, like,
what it boils down to

is that you can't keep popping
in and out of my life.

'Cause I'm not
with that [bleep] no more.

Like, I'm not--I'm not 16,
I'm not a little kid.

Like, if you wanna be, like,
as close as we were,

or have some type
of reconnection, and, like,

the only thing I ask for
from you is that, like,

we don't...
just go in the same old habits.

- I see where you are
coming from.

I definitely need to work
on being more consistent,

um...throughout
all of my relationships.

I just--I don't really
pay attention to...

I guess,
how I affect other people,

and that's very selfish of me.

I'm sorry, I--
[sniffs]

And I think
that doing this has...

definitely opened my eyes.

- I really appreciate
your apology.

Like, it means a lot to me.

Everyone has things
they have to improve on.

I feel like this helped me.
Like...

I need to be more verbal, and,
like, let people in more,

and get time for me to, like,
come back to, like...

re-center, and that's what
you really kinda do for me.

It reminds me of, like,
who I used to be.

Like, it's a good thing.

[uplifting music]

- I appreciate hearing that.
[laughs]

- Well, you guys, I think that
when you've had a past

of being hurt and let down,

it's impossible not
to put a wall up.

- Right.
- So...

you know, it's just
about acknowledging that

and just being open
to the possibility

that, like, you know,
the next person won't hurt you.

You know?
I've had to teach myself that.

♪ ♪

- Definitely.
- So all right.

I'm glad we were able
to clear this up, finally.

It feels to me
like we've cleared the air

of years and years
of uncertainty.

So where does that put you guys
moving forward?

- At the end of the day, like,

I'm always gonna care
about you.

Like, you can always, you know,
message me

and depend on me
no matter what

if you need somebody
to talk to, like, yeah.

- You, too.
[laughs]

You, too.

- So sounds like friends.

Maybe more one day.

But for us, that's it.

So you guys are free now

to, you know, continue...

texting, FaceTiming, whatever.

Wherever that takes you both.

- Awesome.

- I'm proud of y'all.

- All right, boys.
- Good work.

- Nice meeting you two!

And Dustin!
- Bye.

- See you guys!
- Bye!

- ♪ That night
you spoke to me ♪

♪ On the car ride ♪

♪ Holding each other ♪

♪ Till we couldn't breathe ♪

♪ It was love, love ♪

♪ Yeah ♪

- We got Kirsten
talking to Alex,

and then boom, he disappears.

- He started telling me

he didn't want
to hurt me anymore,

so he was gonna come clean.

- Someone created this profile

with the intention of making
a group of friends.

- And targeting your circle.

- Oh, my goodness!

- Could this be blackmail?

[mellow electronic music]

♪ ♪

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