A listener note, this episode contains adult content and language. You think Sam is like literally copying everything that this guy's doing? That's really creepy. That's like super creepy. If this is bogus, this is not bad. If that is a fake, then he worked very hard. It's a good fake. I want to know who the hell I've been talking to this whole time. I don't know anything at all.
I really don't want to meet him alone. We better get there fast. I mean, he's on his way there. If he gets there before us, we could be in big trouble. From MTV and Wondery, I'm Nev Schulman, and this is Catfish the Podcast, where we uncover the truths and lies about love. in the digital world and help people find out if someone really is who they say they are. Now, our most shocking episodes are adapted for your ears for the very first time. On this episode, Kehlani and Sam.
Okay, we got an email from someone named Melvin. I can't believe I'm asking for help about this guy. Melvin. Dear Nev and Max, my name is Melvin. I am 27 years old and live in Menifee, California. I met a guy online named Sam from Northern California over a year ago. He was athletic and had a very manly voice. Like your voice. What kind of eggs do you like, Melvin? That's not manly one. That's creepy.
There were clear signs that something with Sam was off. He would never want a video chat, and he promised to come visit. But I got a text saying he was in a car accident, so I challenged him on it, and he sent me a photo of his face covered with bruises. You can do that in Photoshop. It could be him. Wow.
Look who's back to being Mr. Optimistic. Eventually, I got fed up and cut him off. But that didn't stop Sam from moving on to my friend, Kehlani. They now speak daily and are in love. Wait, Sam is now in love with Kehlani? Sam is a liar. and nothing is to be trusted. Please help Melvin. Wow, so Sam tried to catfish Melvin. Well, did to some extent. And then Sam...
shamelessly just moved on to one of Melvin's friends. And Melvin's like, hey, this guy's a catfish, but Kehlani is too in love to listen to him. All right, well, let's get this guy on the phone. Hello, Matt and Alice here, and we're the hosts of Wondery's podcast, British Scandal. We are, and our latest series covers one of the century's most... controversial and complicated figures Julian Assange, the WikiLeaks founder who risks it all in the pursuit of freedom of information.
and ended up locked up in London. You might listen to this series and pump the air in support of the little guys exposing the corrupt secrets of governments and militaries around the world. Or you might be filled with fury at the brazen disregard for who gets hurt in that quest. Or you might just get creeped out. While wars in Iraq and Afghanistan raged, Assange was singularly focused on undermining America's narrative of the conflicts by making the truth known. But...
Did his difficult personality and extremely questionable conduct compromise his efforts? Join us in London's Ecuadorian embassy to find out. Follow British Scandal now wherever you listen to podcasts and you can binge entire seasons early and ad-free on Wondery+. I'm John Robbins and on my podcast, I sit down with incredible people to ask the very simple question, how do you cope? From confronting grief and mental health struggles to finding strength in failure.
Every episode is a raw and honest exploration of what it means to be human. It's not always easy, but it's always real. Whether you're looking for inspiration, comfort or just a reminder that you're not alone in life's messier moments. Join me on How Do You Cope? Follow now to listen to the full trailer or listen to early episodes ad-free on Wondery+.
Max and I just got an email from Melvin. He's 27 years old and lives in Menifee, California. A year ago, he started an online relationship with a guy named Sam. Now, from the beginning, things didn't add up, and Melvin was very suspicious that Sam was not who he said he was. So eventually, he moved on. But almost immediately, Sam started talking to Melvin's friend, Kehlani.
Melvin is convinced that Sam is a liar, but Kehlani is too in love to listen to Reason. We're getting Melvin on the phone to find out more. Melvin! Hey! Hey, guys. Melvin is wearing a white button-down shirt. His black hair is in a short pompadour. He's got braces on his teeth and black studs in his ears. He smiles. We read your email. The story sounds pretty crazy. Walk us through all the key moments. But one day, this guy slid into my DMs with a simple hey. So I flirted back.
How old is he? He told me he was 19. Do the pictures of Sam look like a 19-year-old? I was kind of unsure of that because he had a little beard. Everything was kind of like fishy. And every time he would FaceTime, his screen would be pitch black.
His excuse was his camera was broken. You knew something was up at that point. Oh, yeah, definitely. And he started adding my friends on my friends list and started texting my friend Kailani. I told Kailani, hey, why are you texting him? Like, you know, he's fake.
She's just someone to talk to. Oh, wait, Kalani's a woman? That's what I was going to say before. I was like, that sounds like a girl's name. Yeah, Kalani is my female best friend. Whoa. He's like playing both sides of the field, I would say. And now Kehlani is in love with Sam and their totally boyfriend-girlfriend? Yes. That's why I emailed you guys. I'm pretty sure she's going to be heartbroken. Let's get Kehlani on the line. Yeah, let's do that. Melvin dials Kehlani's number.
Kehlani appears on the screen. She has long, straight black hair and dark, heavily made-up eyes. She's wearing a green army shirt over a black t-shirt. she smiles uncomfortably so you guys are friends is this awkward that that he was kind of talking to this guy for a bit now you're dating this guy it's a little weird i know but are you in love with him
I have very strong feelings for him. So that's a yes. I guess the big question for me is have you guys both seen Sam's penis? Melvin and Kehlani both laugh. We compared pictures. Really? They're not the same. Different photos or different penises? Different penises and body. Not the same junk. They're getting junk fun. We all laugh. All right, well, look. Mel, I think you're doing the right thing in helping your friend out.
Kehlani, since you're close by, we can just head over there and we can talk a lot more about this in person and either introduce you to the love of your life or release you from the clutches of this catfish. Sounds perfect. All right, bye, guys. Thanks, Mel. Kehlani. See you soon. Kehlani waves. All right, let's head out. Let's do it. Menifee.
Max and I took the two-hour drive from Los Angeles to Riverside County. Now we're cruising through the tree-lined streets of the suburban town of Menifee. All right, break it down. What are we doing here? We are here in Menifee. There's a very unusual story happening here. She's hooked for some reason. All right, here we go. Boom. I pull into the driveway of a small white house.
We walk past the front lawn filled with large trees up to the front porch. Kehlani opens the door before I even have a chance to knock. Hello! Hey! Nice to meet you. Kehlani gives me and Max a hug. I'm a fan, oh my god. Oh, are you? Don't be nervous. Hi. Wow, what a cool place. The big living room has light hardwood floors with sliding glass doors on the far wall, looking out into the backyard.
Black leather furniture is spread out around the room with a large, colorful painting hanging on the wall above the couch where Kehlani and I sit. Max takes a seat in the armchair next to us. How long have you lived in Menifee? I actually just moved back to California. From? Hawaii. In October. Why did you come back? Because I got a divorce. You're a divorcee?
Kehlani nods. I am 23 and divorced. When did you get married? On my 23rd birthday. You get married this year? Yeah, talk about bull . Who was this guy that you were married to? I met him in Hawaii. He got deployed to Australia. We were going to get married when he came back from deployment. When he was in Australia, he was with someone else. You know, of course it hurt, but I loved him. So I married him anyways. After I got married,
I found out things through his best friend. He found videos of his fiance on my ex-husband's phone. Your ex-husband's best friend found out he was cheating with his girl. In July, I got a message on Facebook from a girl who actually lived in Hawaii. He has been engaged to her. What? While you were married to your husband, he was engaged to someone else? Yes. This is, like, I'm telling you, it was bull the whole marriage.
I filed for divorce the next day. How long were you actually married? Officially about almost six months. Oh, I'm so sorry. It's been a very rough year. You really got betrayed by your ex-husband. I did. And saved by Sam. Yeah. He was amazing. I was telling him everything. Before my divorce, he would stay on the phone with me while I cried every night, all night. Who breaks the friend zone first? He does.
We were talking one night and he told me he loved me. And I told him I loved him too. You were in a very raw, vulnerable place. I was like, what the hell am I doing? I'm going to work on my marriage, try to fix it, go to counseling.
I stopped talking to him. And then your relationship with your husband ended. You started talking again. And you were thinking when you got in touch with him after you got divorced, like, okay, like, I'm finally free to... And I told him, when I come home, I want to see you. His excuse was, I have too much homework. There's enough time to call me but not see me. You've now come right out of one emotionally devastating relationship and teed yourself up for another one.
Kehlani smiles and looks down. just need him to be who he says he is because you've had such a hard year. I started, like, I believed he was real because of all the pictures he sent me. I'd like, you know, can we see the pictures? Kehlani takes out her phone. I move closer to her on the couch and Max comes over to sit next to me. That's a picture I took a screenshot from Snapchat that he sent me. It's a close-up of Sam.
He's making a funny face with his eyes wide and eyebrows raised. His hair is short and he has a slight beard. If this is bogus, this is not bad. I don't know how he did it because... He must be using a third-party Snapchat uploader because it came through as if it was taken live in Snapchat. If that is a fake, And he worked very hard. It's a good fake. Yeah, okay. It's a good fake. I scroll past a bunch of photos and stop on one. Oh, here are the...
The abs. Precious abs. There they are. This is a picture just showing gray sweatpants pulled down to reveal major abs. You have to go through the worst to get the best. I mean, I have to say, his Instagram account is... Pretty well populated. That's his butt. That's a butt. The photo is a long shot of a guy from the back standing naked in the bathroom. A butt. It's a nice butt. It is a nice butt. I think we get it. You're in this relationship. It means a lot to you.
You don't want to let it go. He's got perfectly chiseled abs. We get it. Do you believe that he wants to meet you? After we talked earlier, I kind of told him about this. He was very hesitant. But you told him... About the show? Yeah. So you, after we talked to you, you told Sam that you had spoken to us. What did he say? He was just very hesitant. He was like pulling back.
I would expect him to be like, how dare you do that? Why don't you believe me? Just because I'm busy and I can't meet up with you doesn't mean you should bring me on TV. But if he's not pulling that card, then maybe we do have a real chance of just reaching out to him and getting him to talk to us. Can we call him right now? Yeah. We've never done this. Kehlani dials Sam's number. Hey. Hey. What's up? I'm here with Max and Nev. Hey, Sam.
This is Nev. I understand she told you that we spoke, so we thought rather than waste time snooping around, we would just kind of get in touch and see how you felt about maybe meeting up with all of us. If that's something that you don't want to do. You don't want us involved. I'm only asking for a couple hours. I obviously care about you and I love you.
And if you love me, why can't you just give me a few hours of your day? You know I love you. I just really have to go right out to the middle of studying. Okay. Do you see why I get frustrated? Yeah Like thinking like this happens like all the time, right? So look he already knows we're here Judging on the fact that you've been trying to do this for months and it hasn't happened
It'd be unlikely if all of a sudden he just says, like, great, you know what? Yes, let's meet tomorrow. In the meantime, we might as well do some research. Send us everything you have. A Facebook page, the pictures. Okay. All right? We'll figure this out. You're gonna get through this. Nice to meet you. We gave Kehlani a hug and walk out to the car. This girl knows. There's a part of her that knows something's up. She's so desperate for one thing to work out. Right.
that she will take this guy that is the most obvious catfish. She's really in denial. We're gonna get to the bottom of this. It's the next day. Max and I are driving through Menifee looking for a place to start our investigation. Alright, so let's just recap. Kailani found out that her husband was cheating on her and during that period where... she was figuring out what to do with her marriage, she leaned heavily on her friend Sam. And as the kids say, she caught feelings. Exactly. So...
She's in this position where she really wants Sam to be real. And if Sam turns out to not be who he says he is, then all men are scum and liars. And what's the point of ever falling in love again if you're just going to get hurt like this? Max and I find a restaurant and get down to work.
There are Christmas wreaths and sparkling lights hanging everywhere. Stencils of snowflakes decorate the mirrors above the upholstered booths lining the walls. Small dark wood tables with white tablecloths fill the room. Alright. This should be fun. I opened my computer. Email from Kailani
In the email are several photos of Sam and a little information about him and his phone number. Whoa, she knows like his full name, Samuel Ramirez Devecchio. Devecchio. And then his Instagram, Sammy Hilfiger. His mother's name is Ariel Devecchio. and his stepdad's name is Michael Angelo. Really? I mean, possible. I mean, it's perfect that we're in an Italian restaurant right now. It is really perfect. All right, where do you want to start?
I want to start with the pictures. I want to prove that he's not the guy in the pictures. I'm going to just grab all these pictures while we're in the email here. All right, let's start with this one. Go. Beard Papa. In this picture, Sam is sitting in the passenger seat of a car. He's wearing a plaid shirt buttoned all the way to the top and thick-rimmed black glasses. No, nothing. Okay. No, no Beard Papa.
Another picture of him. In this one, Sam is sitting in a restaurant wearing a white v-neck shirt. That... No, nothing. How about this one? Here's one. Another in the same spot. No. Nada. Let's see. What's this one? Oh! There were no matches for the photos of his face, so how about another part of his body? You know what we're gonna get when we look this up? A lot of .
No. Weird. The Wikipedia for the word hand comes up. Hand. It noticed the hand. It thought it was a finger, maybe. All right, we're done. All right, well then I think we need to get more photos. Let's go to his Facebook page. All right, let's see. I searched for Samuel Angelo DeVecchio on Facebook. Okay. Okay, here he is. He went to North Salinas High. Salinas is like Central California. Right.
And he's got a real school tagged here, which is unusual. Wait, only 15 friends? Red flag. Definitely not a good sign. It's like a deep, deep red. Crimson red. Maybe we should just send a message to these 15 people. Blast away. So sending messages to all of his friends. I send a DM to Sam's 15 friends. Hey. This is Niamh from the TV show Catfish. We're doing an episode that involves your friend Samuel DeVecchio. Please get back to me as soon as possible. Thanks.
Someone I'm sure will get back to us hopefully some point soon. Let's download all these. More pictures to search. Okay, here's our guy. There are a bunch of pictures of Sam on his page. In one of them, he's wearing a blue t-shirt with some writing on the front. Does that shirt... I drop in a picture of Sam standing on some rocks with the ocean behind him. He has his arms outstretched, and he's wearing a down vest over a blue and white windbreaker. Here we go. Oh, Emily.
What is this? We got a hit. Oh boy. It's him. The match takes us to the Twitter account for a woman named Emma. In the profile picture, she's got long, straight, light brown hair. She's wearing red shorts, a black t-shirt, and devil horns. Sam is standing next to her with his arm around her waist. Who is he? Who is this guy? Dom. Look, look, Dom is tagged. Who's Dom? I click on Dom's name. Uh-oh, looks like we got a Twitter account.
for him. Is it? Yeah! Dom! Dom! Dom! Dom! Dommie Hilfiger. He's Dommie Hilfiger. And the other guy is Sammy Hilfiger. On Instagram. This guy is copying his... And there he is. It's a picture of Sam. He's wearing a white long-sleeve t-shirt, black baseball cap, and sunglasses. There we got a name! Dominic . Is that for real? Let's look that up. Let's see. Oh.
Oh, there he is. Is that him? That's him. That's the picture. Dom's profile picture is the photo on the rocks by the ocean. We found him. Look, he's from Salinas. Look, he's got over a thousand friends. That's real. Yeah. I think it's pretty clear now that the guy... in the pictures is Dom, but he obviously is not the one talking to Kylan. Well, it's obvious to us. I'm gonna just send him a message. Hey, Dom.
We're filming an episode of Catfish, and we believe that someone is using your photos to pretend to be you. We'd love it if you could video chat. Let me know. All right. I just sent a message to Dominic. Now let's go back and do a little phone search. All right. This is the only piece of evidence we really have for Sam, right? Yeah. I enter the phone number. This is giving us a result. One match. It says it's a mobile number in Salinas, but I don't know how we find this guy.
The one thing we haven't done is looked up the names of Sam's parents. Ariel DeVecchio and Michael Angelo. Ariel DeVecchio. I searched for that name. No results. Weird. Okay. So that could just be a made-up name. I think this is a dead end. So let's go back to his page. Oh! Who is this? Monterey. Hello? Hi. Adriana, hello, hi. We are calling because you're one of 15 friends of Sam DeVecchio on Facebook. And we were just curious how you guys know each other. Okay. Was he flirting with you?
Classic. An hour and a half later, he texted me saying, sorry, he fell asleep. But why would you do that if someone's coming to meet you? Right. Well, he's lying. Obviously. Yeah. All right. Well, we're not sure exactly who he is, but we know he's not the guy he says he is. So just, you know, be careful. And if he tries to contact you, I think you'd be best to just ignore him.
Bye. So he's doing this with lots of girls. I think Kailani, he could probably deal with the reality that he's not the Abercrombie model in the pictures. But if he really loved her... and really cared about her and was real about everything he's been saying, she'd at least have the validation that, like, she matters and she's important to him. But now it sounds like she's not even that important to him. Oh! Who's this? Who's this?
Who could this be? Hello? Yo, can we turn this into a FaceTime? Great. We'll call you in a few minutes. All right, so look, why don't we head to Kailani. Let's do it right now. Yes, yes, brilliant, brilliant. So we'll be at Kailani's, and they can talk. And they'll talk. Yeah. I'm Afua Hirsch. I'm Peter Frankopan. And in our podcast, Legacy, we explore the lives of some of the biggest characters in history. This season, Genghis Khan.
Best known for his brutal campaigns, he was accused of causing millions of deaths. But he also gave his followers religious freedom and education. So is there more to his story than violence and bloodshed? I suspect that there might be Peter, and since violence and bloodshed is basically all I ever learned about Genghis Khan growing up, I'm actually really curious to find out what lies behind the legend.
I can promise you are in for a treat because the Mongols were capable of exceptional acts of brutality. But all the stuff in the positive column either is never talked about or gets brushed to one side. So I'm really grateful to have the chance to speak up for Mongol history. Follow Legacy Now wherever you get your podcasts. Or binge entire seasons early and ad-free on Wondery+. I'm Raza Jaffrey.
And in the latest season of The Spy Who, we open the file on Witold Pilecki, the spy who infiltrated Auschwitz. Resistance fighter Witold Pilecki. has heard dark rumours about an internment camp on his home soil of Poland. Hoping to expose its cruelty to the world, he leaves his family behind and deliberately gets himself imprisoned. The camp is called...
Auschwitz, a hellish place where the unimaginable becomes routine. Pilecki is determined. He needs to organise the prisoners, build a resistance and get the truth out. Except when the world hears about the horrors of the camp. Nobody comes to the rescue. In the end, it's just him, alone, with only one decision to make. Accept death or escape. Follow The Spy Who on the Wondery app or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Or you can binge the full season of The Spy Who Infiltrated Auschwitz early and ad-free with Wondery+. Okay, we found the real person who Sam is pretending to be. His name is Dom, and we just spoke to him on the phone. We also contacted 15 friends on Sam's fake profile, and a woman named Adriana responded.
She said that he flirted with her and they had planned to meet in Monterey, but he never showed up. We're going to FaceTime with Dom in a few minutes. Max and I are at Kehlani's house to bring her up to date. How are you feeling today? So much better. Have you spoken to Sam? No, I haven't. I mean, after our call yesterday, you'd think he would have had something to say. Right. I texted him, and he never texted back. Well, he's busy. It's a really busy time. He has his finals. He has his finals.
It's got a lot going on. Kehlani laughs. Yeah. We have been busy. Oh, yeah. We did some investigation. We should go over everything we found. Okay. Okay. We'll go sit down over here. Yeah. Kehlani looks a little apprehensive. She leads us over to the large dark wood dining room table and we sit down. I open my computer. First thing we did was we downloaded all these pictures that you sent. And we image searched them. Nothing.
And we went to his Facebook page and started image searching these photos. And we finally got a hit. Dominic. Kehlani takes a breath and closes her eyes. And look what he goes by. Domi Hill figure. What does Sam go by? Sammy Hill figure. We went and found his Facebook page from Salinas. Which is pretty close to Monterey. Right. So you think Sam is like literally copying everything that this guy is doing?
That looks to be what's happening. Kehlani stares at the screen. That's really creepy. That's like super creepy. One other thing, we also reached out to Dom. He can probably video chat with us now. So if you want, we can call Dom, the guy in the pictures, and see if he knows anything about this imposter. Kehlani nods. She looks very nervous. Okay. All right, so let's get Dom on and see if we can talk. All right, here he is. Hey. Hey, Dom. How you doing? What's up, man? How are you? Good.
Dom has long, thick black hair and a black beard. He's wearing a gray long-sleeved sweatshirt. This is Kehlani. Kehlani gives Dom a slight smile. She's holding back tears. So for the last year, Kailani, and even before that, her friend Melvin was talking to this guy named Sam, who's been using your photos.
And a lot of information and sort of details about your life. It's creepy. You don't know anybody that... is like weirdly obsessed with you or has a big crush on you forever that would like want to pretend to be you actually i got a direct message on instagram from some obviously fake profiles like you know there's like fake user names no pictures on their page
And they wanted me to send a verification photo of myself to prove that the person that this girl was talking to wasn't the real me. It seemed suspicious. I was trying to tell them, you could just look at my page. Obviously, I'm the real me. I'm not hiding anything. but they really wanted me to take a picture of a sign, I think, with some kind of name on it. Do you remember the name? I want to say it was like . That's my last name. Oh, really? Whoa. That could have been Sam.
Well, be on the alert that someone's using your pictures. Will do. Thank you for talking to us. Yeah, I'm sorry about all that. That's really unfortunate. I hope that you guys figure it out, and good luck with your guys' investigation. All right. Kehlani nods sadly. Thank you. Thanks, Tom. Thanks, Tom. Bye. Kehlani puts her chin in her hand. I don't know what to say. How was it talking?
to Dom just now. I mean, was that, that was kind of the face time you've been waiting for for a long time. Was it weird hearing someone else's voice coming out of that face? A little bit. It sucks. Yeah, it really does. I want to know who the hell I've been talking to this whole time. Like I don't know anything at all. Let's just finish showing you kind of everything we've done. I go to Sam's Facebook page. Sam's only got 15 friends on Facebook. We messaged everyone. One of them was this girl.
Adriana from Stockton, California. And she called us back. I said to her, I was like, hey, we're making an episode. What do you know about Sam? She said, oh, he hit me up and he was flirting with me. And then I went up to Monterey. And when I got up there, he wasn't answering my phone calls. He wasn't answering my text messages. And finally, he wrote me and said, oh, sorry, I fell asleep.
But the point of that is that he was talking to some other girl, giving her the same sort of story while he's talking to you. Kehlani takes that in for a moment. I don't even know what to say back to that. What was alarming to me was not that he wasn't the guy in the pictures. I already knew that. But what bugs me is that he's confessing his love to you. He's essentially saying he's going to be there when you break up with your husband.
And meanwhile, he's also talking to other girls. It's really up. It's just one person lying to me every day to another person's been lying to me every day. But yet they both said that they loved me. Husband never apologized to me, let alone did he tell me why he did anything? He never apologized to you? No. So, I would really appreciate an apology from him. Oh my god, I'm gonna cry.
Kehlani puts her hand up to her face, trying hard to hold back tears. So I think we should call Sam and let him know that you now are aware of the fact that Dom is the real person. in the photos. And if he really does care about you, this would be his only and last opportunity to actually show you that. Okay. All right. Let's see how this goes. I dial Sam's phone number.
Hey Sam, it's Nev again. Some things have changed and we'd love to talk again and give you an opportunity to maybe meet up with us and explain some things. Just try to get back to us, thanks. Jeez, did he already ditch that number? Well look, we will await his response. That's really the only thing we can do at this point. Kehlani nods. Okay. All right. Okay, you'll be okay. All right. Bye. I give Kehlani a hug. Bye.
Max and I are driving back to our hotel. What really sucks is that this guy knew what she was going through. He knew that she was going through this tough time with her husband, and yet he was doing the same thing to her. How do you explain that? It's messed up. It's cruel. It's late at night, and I'm thinking back on everything that's happened so far. Today was not a great day for Kailani.
As hard as she was trying, I think, to hold in her sadness and disappointment, you could totally see it on her face. Sort of the part of the job that I kind of hate. Hopefully we'll find some positive resolution to this if Sam gets back to us. Either way, we're going to track this guy down. It's the next day, and Max and I are in the lobby of our hotel when the phone rings. It's Kailani. Hello? On his way to where?
Jesus. Okay, well, we're just leaving the hotel, so we'll just get over there quickly. I really don't want to meet him alone. No, no, no, we'll be there soon. Okay. Bye. Whoa. That's weird. We better get there fast. Yeah, I mean, he's on his way there. If he gets there before us, we could be in big trouble. Max and I park in front of Kehlani's house. We get out of the car and run to the front door, which Kehlani opens with a frightened look on her face. Kehlani, is he here? No. Okay.
You scared me. We thought maybe he would get here before us. The three of us stand together in the front hallway. What are you doing? Oh my god, I'm really nervous now. So what did he say? He said, I'm on my way.
I'm taking an Uber to come see you. I'm driving to your house right now. An Uber from where? From where? He didn't tell me where he was. Because I'm in an Uber. He's like, I'm in an Uber. Okay, wait, so hold on a second. Let's sit down and go over this. We go into the living room. Kehlani and I sit down on the couch. Max takes his spot next to us in the armchair.
Like, he didn't care. He wasn't trying to explain or say, I really have feelings for you or anything like that? No, just that he wants to see me and he's on his way. That's alarming. If he was being a dick and being aggressive and wasn't apologizing, just like, I'm on my way to see you, I know where you live, like, that's not good. It's a little creepy. Yeah. Yeah. We don't know anything about this guy. Right. Seriously, this is...
It's scary. He knows your address because you sent him... He sent me letters and things in the mail. You want to go outside? Yeah. We follow Kehlani out to the front lawn. It's just frightening that he knows where you live. I'm just going to look and see if anyone's coming down the street. It's been a few minutes. I go to the curb to scope things out. Wait, here's an Uber, guys.
Is that an Uber? That is an Uber. A white car approaches and slows down. It's stopping. I think this is it, guys. Someone's getting out. Someone's getting out. Kehlani clutches her stomach. She looks terrified. A young man gets out of the passenger side of the car. Sam? Yeah. Do you know this person? Kehlani looks confused. She shakes her head. No. Who are you?
Sam. Yeah, okay. Sam is wearing a large hooded gray jacket over a white t-shirt with baggy khaki pants and black sneakers. He's wearing a baseball cap and glasses. He stands with his hands in his pockets. And where are you from? Monterey. You are from Monterey? Yeah. Okay. How old are you? I'm 19. So that stuff was true? Yeah. Did you go to school with Dom? No.
Do you know him? Yeah, I've been around him through mutual friends. You've never actually met him? Nah. Kehlani makes a face. And how long have you been pretending to be him? Pretty much just a year. Just a year? Yeah. So what that you told me is true? Pretty much basically everything. Just not the person in pictures. Kehlani takes a breath. She's trying to make sense of all of it. Why don't you kind of just tell us?
your side of this and just kind of take us back and kind of explain how this happened, how you guys met. You started the profile. I mean, this isn't an excuse, but like in high school. I got made fun of a lot because I have feminine features. So I wanted to know if I was different, more manly looking and everything, how would people accept me? Kailani looks at Sam sadly. What was your intention with Kailani? I never actually thought I would get that far.
You knew what she was going through with a guy who had lied to her and let her on and deceived her and sort of put her through hell. And while, yes, you were there and supportive... you knew that eventually she would find out and that it would only hurt her even more. And that's why, like, I couldn't really tell her, you know, like, I didn't.
I didn't know how to tell you on top of everything else that she's been going through. You've been leading me on this whole time. No, I actually got really strong feelings for you. What about Adriana? You got real feelings for her also? Adriana wasn't anything compared to how I talked to Kailani. And what about Melvin? It's just sort of like testing, I guess, the waters. But I don't do that.
Have you ever had a relationship with a man? I never meant to hurt you because I really do care about you. I really do. I do love you. Kehlani stares at Sam. It's really hard for me to believe that. when you were telling Adriana that you cared about her as well. But I cared about her as, like, a friend. Like, I don't even know her that long. I mean, you don't even know her in person either. Yeah. But, like, I don't have feelings for her like that.
I'm going to go inside with Colleen for a second, chat, sort of check in. Give you a second also to like, because I know this is a lot. So let's just take two seconds, sort of reset. Do you want to stand out here just to hang for a second? Sure, yeah, yeah. All right, we'll just give us a minute. Have you ever gotten a message out of the blue?
Maybe you ignore them. Or maybe you end up in conversation. Maybe they tell you about an amazing offer. I can really show you how to make some money. And maybe that gets you into a lot of trouble. But this isn't a story about people like you, the people receiving these messages. This is a story about the people behind the messages, on the other end of the line. Thousands of them.
working in a microcity built for scammers. From Wondery, the makers of Dr. Death and Kill List, comes Scam Factory, a new series about survival at the expense of others. Follow Scam Factory on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Scam Factory early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.
I guess this is better than a dangerous person we didn't know coming to Kehlani's house. Max and I had no idea what to expect. She's finally come face to face with the real person she's been talking to for a year. Sam claims to have real feelings for her and that everything he's told her is true. When Kehlani asked him about Adriana, who he was also talking to, Sam told her that she was just a friend. I don't know.
I need to check in to see how Kehlani's doing. We're sitting in the backyard around a white table by the swimming pool. Alright. It's a little confusing. He's been... Telling these lies and avoiding this issue for so long now, he's just not comfortable saying what's true. He knew what I was going through, but yet he couldn't just tell me. But when I called him going through my divorce...
He continued to make me believe that that was him. So that's messed up. That he kept lying. I know I hurt her. You really love her? Yeah. I never wanted to hurt her. Even though I knew what I was doing was wrong. Kehlani and I come back out to the front yard where Max and Sam are talking. I can see that Sam is crying. So I think the best thing to do now is to go our separate ways, process this, and then meet up tomorrow. Is that cool? Yeah.
Yeah. Good to meet you. Appreciate it. You too. Max and I shake Sam's hand. Kehlani stands with her hands folded in front of her. She doesn't look at Sam as he walks away. It's the next day. Max and I are in my hotel room when the phone rings. Hey, Sam. How you doing? There's a lot of things I didn't get to say yesterday. I'd like to talk to you and Max alone. Text us where you're at and we'll head over there.
Max and I are driving down a beautiful tree-lined street. The leaves are all different shades of red, yellow, and green. Looks like the park is up here on the right. Is that him? Yeah, that's Sam. Sam is sitting at one of the picnic tables on the far side of the huge green lawn. We park and get out of the car. You ready? We walk across the park to meet Sam.
He's sitting at a table, nervously tapping his foot on the ground. Sam. What's up? Sam gets up and shakes our hand. Max and I sit down across from him. What's up? All right. Out with it. what's up sam smiles hey oh i just want to start off by saying uh i'm really nervous but my name is sam but My birth name is Samantha. I'm going through the process to turn into a male. But my family doesn't know because they wouldn't accept it.
Everybody sort of knew that I was always more manly than a female should be ever since I was little. I'd rather be playing sports than wearing makeup and doing all this other girly stuff. My mom, she wanted me. To be really girly, she would say, I have a daughter, not a son. And I didn't tell Kyle on it because I sort of wanted to protect myself. Sam starts to cry.
He reaches his hand up to dry his eyes. That's a big thing to say and we appreciate it. Thank you for being open and sharing that. I did create the profile to test waters and stuff. I just wanted to know if that was something I really wanted, to be a male. And then Kailani came around and she made me feel accepted that I could be me, even though she didn't know who I actually was.
I never really meant to hurt her or anything. She wasn't an experiment. Like, she was not at all. My feelings for her are strong and they're real. Is this the first person you've been in love with? Sam nods. I think Kailani needs to know. If you want, we can head over there, all of us, and do that. Sam takes a breath and nods apprehensively.
You want to jump in our car? Yeah, you can ride with us. I'm just scared how Kehlani's going to take it. Max, Sam, and I park in front of Kehlani's house. All right, here we are. I'm just really nervous. We got your back. Sam turns to me and smiles. All right. Game time. The three of us get out of the car and walk to the front door. Hey. Hey. Come in.
Kehlani leads us into the living room. Kehlani and I sit down on each end of the sofa. Sam and Max are in chairs across from each other on either side of the coffee table. Okay, here we are. Sam has something he wants to tell you. Sam smiles nervously. He takes a beat before speaking. I was not born a male. I'm transitioning. I do go by Sam.
When I identify as a male, I was not comfortable at all to tell you yesterday. Kehlani closes her eyes and puts her hands together. I don't know what to say. I have never lied like this in my life. It bothered me every day. I'm just, like, upset that you ought to get to the point where we have feelings for each other. You should have just been yourself, because I would have accepted you for you either way.
Sam looks down. I know. It's easy to say like you could have just been honest with me, but it's not like Sam is open about. this with even his family i mean this is all new for him he's just now beginning to get comfortable revealing that i just didn't know how to tell you Kehlani presses her lips together and looks down. I'm not mad at you. Sam looks at Kehlani hopefully. I don't want you not in my life, but I might need some space, but I do want to be your friend.
That was my biggest fear, losing you. On a fundamental level, you guys really helped each other through a bad marriage, transitioning. That is kind of what's most important here from the outside. Kehlani smiles. Well, I'm glad I was able to help you. And I appreciate more than anything you being there. Sam nods seriously. All right, so look.
I think you've now aired this out. You've said what you need to say. I think that's a good place to leave it for now. We got a lot of questions answered. I feel a lot better about everything. How do you feel, Sam? I'm just glad I told her. Thanks to you guys. That's the only way I know I can do it. Alright, good luck with everything. I give Kehlani a hug. She turns to Sam and they hug tightly. You can text me. Sam smiles. He looks happy and relieved to have told the truth.
I know that Kehlani was disappointed and sad that Sam wasn't the person she thought she'd been talking to, but she was able to accept him for who he is and understand what he's going through. Sam's feelings for Kehlani are real. I'm glad it could be resolved this way. I hope both of them can find the love they are looking for. Three months later, we check back in.
Kehlani! How is everything? Everything's good. Kehlani smiles. She's fresh-faced and looks relaxed and happy. Are you talking to Sam at all? Not really. I'm... Glad that I got to see who it was. It's just, I want to move forward. Have you met anybody? I have a boyfriend who works for UPS. Does he handle you with care? Yeah, he does. Good. Are you already married to him? I'm no rush. So you just stick to ground. No priority overnight. Kehlani smiles and rolls her eyes.
All right, well, look, it's nice to hear from you. Happy that you're doing well. Thank you. Bye. Yo! Sam waves. He's wearing a backwards blue baseball cap and red plaid flannel shirt over a white T-shirt. He has a huge smile on his face. What's been going on since we saw you last? I've just been focusing on me. I want to take EMT paramedic classes for sure. Wow. I have been slowly coming out.
to some friends. That was a really big step for me. Congratulations. I'm excited for the future. Good. Maybe next time we speak, it'll be because you're resuscitating me in the back of an ambulance. Definitely will totally save your guys' lives. Good luck, Sam. Bye.
This is Catfish the Podcast. If you like our show, please give us a five-star rating and a review, and be sure to tell your friends. You can follow this show on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, on the Wondery app, or wherever you're listening right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app to listen ad-free. In the episode notes, you'll find some links and offers from our sponsors. Please support them. Another way you can support the show is by filling out a survey at wondery.com slash survey.
I'm your host, Nev Schulman. This episode was produced by Donna Hyams. Sound design is by Rob Spate. Additional assistance by Eugene Pereiras. Our coordinating producer is Matt Gant. Tanja Thigpen is our managing producer. Our series producer is Kate Young. In the depths of an Atlanta forest, a clash between activists and authorities ends in tragedy. But the official narrative doesn't add up. I'm Matthew Scher, and on my new podcast, We Came to the Forest.
We peel back the layers of secrecy surrounding a deadly confrontation that shook a community to its core. Through exclusive recordings and never before released eyewitness accounts, we expose the hidden truths behind a shootout that left one activist dead and countless lives forever changed. As we dig deeper, we uncover a web of conflicting testimonies and missing evidence.
From the idealistic dreams of young environmentalists to the complex motivations of local officials, this story challenges our understanding of justice, activism, and the lengths people will go to protect what they believe in. Follow We Came to the Forest on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge all episodes of We Came to the Forest early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery+.
At 24, I lost my narrative, or rather it was stolen from me. And the Monica Lewinsky that my friends and family knew was usurped by false narratives, callous jokes, and politics. I would define reclaiming as to take back what was yours. Something you possess is lost or stolen, and ultimately you triumph in finding it again. So I think listeners can expect me to be chatting with folks, both recognizable and unrecognizable names, about the way that people have navigated roads to triumph.
My hope is that people will finish an episode of Reclaiming and feel like they filled their tank up. They connected with the people that I'm talking to and leave with maybe some nuggets that help them feel a little more hopeful. Follow Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Reclaiming early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts.