Originally appeared on E! Online
What would you do if you discovered everything your spouse told you was a lie?
Well, TikToker ReesaTeesa has captivated fans with her 50-part story chronicling her relationship with a man she says had lied about his entire life.
"I'm going to tell the story of how I met, dated, married and divorced a real pathological liar," she began the lengthy video series. "I'm going to be truthful, even if it makes me look bad."
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Ultimately, she recounted the events, which she said took place between March 2020 and December 2021, in 52 nearly 10-minute videos as part of a series called "Who TF Did I Marry?!?"
"Whether you agree with me and my decisions or not," she told NBC News in an interview published Feb. 22. "I wanted it to create conversation about the things that we ignore because we want what we want or we're in a hurry."
"I've started giving myself grace as I'm reading messages from other women who've gone through the same thing," Reesa noted. "Because for the longest time after the story was released, it did feel like I was the only one who fell for this."
Entertainment News
Keep reading for a breakdown of the series that has TikTok seated with popcorn.
Who is ReesaTeesa?
Reesa — who requested NBC News not use her full name for safety reasons — began sharing her expansive story about her ex on the social media platform Feb. 14. After the videos went viral, Reesa reflected on her decision to post the story online and doesn't regret it.
"I already knew this story was not going to always make me look good at all," she told NBC News. "But I also felt like the story was bigger than me in a way. In other words, it was worth some embarrassment. But it was cathartic and it was also very emotional, and very hard at times."
E! News reached out to Reesa and did not hear back.
How did ReesaTeesa meet her ex-husband?
Reesa's ex-husband did not respond to NBC News' request for comment.
Reesa said she met her ex-husband, whom she referred to using the pseudonym Legion in the videos, in March 2020 on Facebook's dating site.
She explained that he quickly wowed her by coming to her rescue when she was stranded at a gas station after her tire blew on the way to their first date. "He showed up at the gas station, and he changed my tire," she admitted, "which I just thought was the sexiest thing in the world."
And when they reached the restaurant, Legion shared what he was looking for in a relationship.
"He was like, 'I want marriage, family, a house,'" Reesa recalled. "‘As a man, I'm ready to get married, but I want it to be for real because the first time it really hurt me when she cheated on me.'"
What did Reesa think she knew about her ex-husband?
Reesa said that when they began dating, Legion told her he'd worked for Apple in California before moving to Atlanta to become vice president of production at a condiment company. He also told her he had gone to college in San Diego and played arena football professionally, which left him with substantial funds in an off-shore account.
And when it came to his family life, Reesa said Legion claimed to have several siblings — including two brothers, two sisters and two half-brothers — and shared he'd been married once previously.
The couple's relationship turned serious not long after their first date and they chose to quarantine together at the start of the pandemic. That May, Reesa says she learned she was pregnant but sadly miscarried the following month.
Reesa and Legion went on to tie the knot in January 2021. However, not long after their marriage, she said she began to worry something was off due to his behavior during their house-hunting journey. She said her husband often came up with excuses while putting in offers they would eventually pull, ranging from inspections taking too long or waiting for approval for money transfers.
When did Reesa learn what she says is the truth about her ex?
Throughout the course of their relationship, Reesa acknowledged that she picked up on some of his lies. For instance, in June 2020, she said a house that she believed they had closed on had been taken off the market and was actually purchased by another couple.
"There is no house. He's going to have to get out of this lie somehow," she explained in part five. "Keep in mind, I was pregnant. I had a decision to make. You're about to have a baby with this man. He's paying all the household bills. Let him get out of the lie."
After catching him in what she says were multiple lies, including discovering he was using a false social security number while applying for their marriage license in December, Reesa shared she began sleuthing into his past.
She said that after obtaining his real social security number for a background check for her new job, she learned he had lied about several aspects of his life — including that he wasn't an executive but instead was a forklift operator. She also discovered he had been convicted of criminal trespassing and impersonating a police officer.
After getting into contact with his family, Reesa explained she discovered he didn't have several siblings as he'd claimed and that he was estranged from his two brothers over his lying. While doing more digging, she says, she also discovered that he was married twice.
When did Reesa's marriage end?
In addition to lying about many aspects of his life, Reesa alleged he cheated on her and that she discovered his infidelity in June 2021 after seeing text evidence of his affair. She says she quickly kicked him out of the house and filed for divorce, which was obtained by NBC News.
Reesa says he continued to contact her for months and that August, she moved out of her house. She finally received her divorce decree in December.
Reflecting on her decision to post her story years later, Reesa said she hopes she can prevent someone else from making the same mistakes she had made.
"I can honestly tell you, being single sucks, in my opinion," she said in her final video. "But being married to the wrong person is a type of hell no one should have to go through."
(E! and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
