Te’o, Tuiasosopo and the elaborate 2013 hoax are the subject of a new two-part documentary, “Untold: The Girlfriend Who Didn’t Exist,” directed by Ryan Duffy and Tony Vainuku, out Tuesday on Netflix. Though audiences may first recognize Te’o’s name, the documentary opens with Tuiasosopo. She takes a central role throughout the two episodes, bringing audiences along on her journey of self discovery and gender identity — shaped in part by her experiences catfishing Te’o.
According to the team when they approached Naya, they had a fascinating conversation with her. And when they caught Manti it was a really interesting time in his life. His NFL career was winding down. Naya was very open, very vulnerable, she told her story warts and all. Just listening to her motivations of why she decided to occupy this space, why create this online identity profile, DM and message a football player like Manti Te’o, build a relationship, have phone calls — it was all just really fascinating for us and i think that was really the basis of why we were so interested in speaking with her.
