You’ve probably heard about TikTok user Reesa Teesa‘s incredibly viral saga “Who TF Did I Marry?” — one woman’s account of her experience with her “pathologically lying ex-husband” uploaded in 50, 10-minute videos. It’s a compelling story with viewers glued to the screen, listening to the American woman’s seven-hour story. But if you’ve got a goldfish brain like me, that’s a long time to be watching TikTok videos. So, allow me to be your eyes and your ears so I can give you the TL;DR of what actually went down.
Full disclosure, Reesa is not her real name. The creator told NBC News that she would prefer her real name not to be used due to safety reasons so we will be respecting her wishes.
How did the 50-part saga begin?
The first video — which was uploaded on February 15 — kicked off with an introduction where Reesa explained that she would be sharing the story of how she “met, dated, married and divorced a real pathological liar.”
“This is my story,” she said. “I’m just a regular woman who thought she met The One — and I didn’t.
“I’m going to be truthful, even if it makes me look bad. I’m going to be honest, but I’m also not going to be disrespectful.”
Over four days, Reesa posted a series of videos that had the internet transfixed.
But before we get knee-deep in the drama, it’s worth noting that we’re taking Reesa’s word on this and it’s not verified, so please take it all with a grain of salt.
In the series, Reesa explained how she met her ex — who she refers to as Legion — in March 2020, two weeks before COVID lockdowns. After a successful first date where Legion came to Reesa’s rescue after her tyre blew, she thought it was the start of something special. Feeling the rush of a new romance, they began living together when their home state of Georgia went into COVID lockdowns.
In January 2021, they tied the knot but by June 2021, Reesa had begun to realise that certain things Legion said weren’t quite adding up.
Reesa claimed that when she met Legion, he told her he was the vice president of a condiment company and had relocated offices. He said that he had an ex-wife and two children who he was on good terms with. He’d allegedly told her that he was looking to buy a house and a new car for her, showing Reesa pre-approval letters from banks and proof of funds.
He also appeared to have a great relationship with his family, and Reesa would listen each morning as he had 45-minute long conversations with his brothers.
After a while of shopping around for homes and cars, Reesa realised that the purchases never went through. Something always seemed to go wrong. But by that point, they were married and aside from some strange money things, their relationship was strong.
As she paid more attention, Reesa began to realise that there was a lot she didn’t know about Legion. But it wasn’t until she asked him for his social security number, and realised that the number he gave her did not match the one he had written on their marriage licence didn’t match that the alarm bells really started to ring.
In the US, a social security number is issued to citizens and residents and used to track earnings and benefits. In most cases, people only have one social security number for life. So when Reesa saw he had two, she was worried.
With Legion’s real social security number in hand, Reesa did some digging and the whole facade came tumbling down. She discovered that he was a former felon who lied to her about his profession and how much money he had.
Spiralling from the information, she found his ex-wife’s phone number to set the record straight and somehow, it got even more bonkers.
Legion had previously told her that his step-daughter had died from COVID, but the ex-wife said that this wasn’t true at all.
At this point, Reesa kicked Legion out of the house. Not long after, she recieved a call from Legion’s cousin who claimed that their family had cut ties with him — meaning that he’d been faking his daily phone calls with his brothers.
Completely unnerved by Legion’s constant lies, Reesa filed for divorce. While she alleged that he hassled her for a while after that, she said he finally left her alone in December 2021. In the end, she said that she believes Legion never loved her.
Lord, what a rollercoaster! If you’re more of a visual learner, here’s another explainer for you.
How do we know if any of this is real?
In short, we can’t verify with 100% certainty that this is true. It’s pretty fkn murky.
Since Reesa’s story has gone mega-viral, TikTok sleuths claim that they found Legion’s true identity. One user even outed a man she found on Facebook who fit this description without his permission. Then, the man in the Facebook account — who goes by the name of Jerome — made a video claiming to be Reesa’s ex-husband, and posted a video saying that Reesa’s story is “completely false” and she “lied about everything”.
In response, Reesa made a video in which she asked people not to engage with this man.
THEN, Legion/Jerome’s ex-wife LaToya seemingly came out of the woodwork to back up Reesa’s story, claiming that Legion/Jerome was “manipulative”.
Ai-yi-yi, indeed.
It’s worth noting that Reesa’s story has inspired many people to look at their own relationships and recognise some negative patterns. So, that’s good.
How and why did this saga go so damn viral?
Watching this series, it’s clear that Reesa Teesa is an incredible storyteller. True or not, the way she shares her perspective is compelling and clear, and I can see why so many people became transfixed by her story.
And in a time where people are criticising users for being too polished on TikTok, Reesa shares her story with a perceived authenticity and honesty that users crave.
So, whether Reesa’s story was prioritised by our algorithms to prove that long-form content was engaging and fascinating by the TikTok gods, or it’s just a damn good story that we all became transfixed by, it doesn’t really matter.
I just hope that Reesa has monetized the video so she can make bank from her viral success.
