In an unorthodox episode of MTV's "Catfish," Nev and Max agree to help Thaddeus, a former corrections officer in Texas, who already figured out the girl he met online was a catfish. But what he needed help with was confronting the girl who spun a web of lies for seven years.
Thaddeus explained that he friended a girl named Sara Jackson on Facebook. He told Nev and Max that his intentions were innocent and he just needed someone to talk to, to give him an outsider's perspective on his deteriorating marriage. After talking with Sara, Thaddeus and his wife separated and Sara confessed she had developed romantic feelings for him.
They made plans to meet, but Sara gave Thaddeus grandiose excuses like seizures, kidnapping and hypothermia. Growing suspicious, Thaddeus used some of Nev and Max's tips and reverse image searched Sara's profile. They traced back to another girl on Facebook who proved that she was the real Sara.
The real Sara complained that a girl named Ashley had been stealing her photos for years and said Thaddeus wasn't the first man that fell for the catfish.
Nev and Max found a current address for Ashley and reached out to some of her previous victims, including Sara. They convinced her to tag along to confront Ashley with Thaddeus, in a catfish intervention. She agreed.
Ashley didn't answer Nev's call when he tried to arrange a meeting and didn't respond to his voicemail. The group decided to take a chance and show up at the address unannounced.
Knocks on the door went unanswered and neighbors couldn't disclose much information about Ashley. But after texting with Thaddeus, she agreed to meet at a friend's house.
Ashley tried to explain herself after meeting Thaddeus and Sara. When asked why she started catfishing men online and pretending to be Sara, she responded with a sad story about a called-off engagement.
"I want to feel bad for you," Sara told her, "but at the same time, I have my own issues. To me, it sounds like an excuse."
Nev, Max, Thaddeus and Sara all head back to the car to regroup. They sat down with Ashley again and tried to get a more authentic, honest reason for deceiving innocent people. Her second story about her struggle with loneliness and feeling like nobody cares struck a cord with Sara and Thaddeus and their anger turned to empathy.
"Here's an example of what can happen when you face your fears and you realize it's not so scary," Nev said.
In the two-month update, Thaddeus and Sara confirmed that Ashley had not changed. She continued to catfish men posing as Sara and refused to comment.
See a clip from the episode below.
