Weird News

Manti Te'o has broken his silence ... admitting he knew having a relationship with a "girlfriend" solely online was "crazy," insisting he was a victim, and revealing that the culprit has now apologized.

Manti gave an audio interview to ESPN -- the photo was taken in the middle of the chat -- in which he acknowledges Ronaiah Tuiasosopo tweeted him a full confession two days ago. You gotta love it ... even the confession was online. ESPN says it was followed up by a phone call.

Manti says, "I wasn't faking it. I wasn't part of this."

Manti says he now knows -- presumably from Tuiasosopo -- "Two guys and a girl are responsible for the whole thing." He says he doesn't know the identity of the second guy or the girl. He adds he didn't know for sure until Wednesday that it was all a hoax, when Tuiasosopo admitted it to him.

Manti explained why he lied to his dad and others, when he said or intimated he had seen the fictitious Lennay Kekua in the flesh. "I knew that -- I even knew that it was crazy that I was with somebody that I didn't meet, and that alone people find out that this gir who died I was so invested in, and I didn't meet her as well ... So I kind of tailored my stories to have people think that, yeah, he met her before she passed away so people wouldn't think I was some crazy dude."

As for one of the big questions -- why didn't he at least Skype -- he says he tried to speak with Lennay through Skype or FaceTime several times, but the person on the other end was in a "black box" and couldn't be seen. He says he also tried meeting her a few times in L.A. and Hawaii, but she kept canceling.

And this is a little weird ... Manti says Lennay once asked him for his checking account number so she could send him money. He did not provide it. Still, no suspicion.

Manti says the fictitious relationship was not a full four years -- they would take breaks, but it got intense after she said her father had died.

He says things got crazy after Lennay's fake car accident when she was in the hospital, and he could only hear her breathing over the phone -- "I slept on the phone with her every night ...the only thing that could help her sleep was if I was on the phone."

As for why he didn't visit her in the hospital, he says, "It never really crossed my mind. I don't know. I was in school."

As for why he didn't attend her "funeral," he says, "Her mom told them [Lennay's family] they did not want me to come," adding, "I didn't want that to be the first time that I saw her was laying in a coffin."

Manti says on December 6 -- three months after Lennay had supposedly died -- a woman called from the number Lennay had used, saying, "Manti, it's me." He says that was the first time it was apparent to him -- he had been scammed.

Manti Te'o is telling close friends he was so badly scarred by the Internet hoax, he doesn't think he can ever trust people again ... TMZ has learned.

Manti is telling his friends he was not only victimized by the person behind the phantom GF, he lost his real girlfriend as a result of the mess.

TMZ broke the story ... Manti started dating 21-year-old Alexandra del Pilar in early November and really liked her. But when Manti realized on December 6 he'd been played -- and he believes by Ronaiah Tuiasosopo -- he became a different person.

Our sources say Manti became "freaked out, angry, upset and withdrawn," and Alexandra couldn't handle it. And we're told ... Alexandra was dealing with a lot, because Manti let her in on his secret that he had been scammed.

We're told Alexandra pulled the plug on the relationship just before the story broke wide. Manti harbors no hard feelings and is sorry the relationship crumbled.

As for the future, we're told Manti's trust in people has been shattered and -- at least for now -- he doesn't think that trust will come back.

John Cena has a HUGE problem with his stuffed doppelganger ... telling TMZ he spied a major error on his official WWE "Brawlin' Buddies" doll.

The wrestling superstar was out at LAX this week ... chatting with fans ... signing pics ... and of course autographing his wildly popular "Brawlin' Buddies" doll -- manufactured by Mattel -- when suddenly, John noticed something was remiss.

These are not the fingernails of a poor person ... or a dead person ... or a Charlie Sheen ... they belong to one of the most famous people on the planet.

11:49 AM PT -- New photos have surfaced showing Manti and Alexandra sitting on Santa's lap together sometime around Christmas.

Alex also posted a photo on November 16, in which she thanked Manti for giving her a couple of leis, which she hung in her car.

The dates are consistent with the story Manti is telling friends.

Manti Te'o quietly began dating an actual living, breathing female human being ... shortly after he learned "Lennay Kekua" had died from cancer ... and the rebound chick is HOT ... TMZ has learned.

Sources close to Manti tell us ... the Notre Dame star met Alexandra del Pilar the weekend of November 10 -- when Notre Dame played Boston College.

Alexandra, 21, is a student at St. Mary's College in Indiana -- which is close to Notre Dame.

We're told Alexandra and Manti dated for nearly 2 months, but broke up recently.

There are rumors swirling that Manti created a fictitious GF to take the pressure off him from teammates and others who felt he should be dating, but his relationship with a real woman calls those rumors into doubt.

They say drilling's bad for the environment -- and now we know why.

Scary Spice Mel B was in desperate need of a fill-up today in L.A. -- so her husband Stephen Belafonte took care of business at a local gas station.

Donna Tei -- whose picture was used as part of the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax -- says she and her family have never met the Notre Dame star and have no idea how she got roped into the scam.

As TMZ first reported, a Notre Dame superfan (who we're calling "Jan") says she struck up an online friendship with a person claiming to be U'ilani Rae Kekua -- the older sister of Te'o's dead "girlfriend," Lennay Kekua.

U'ilani later sent a photo to Jan showing a woman at a cemetery -- and told her, "This is me and my family at Lennay's gravesite. We're spending the day here."

But the woman in the photo couldn't have been U'ilani -- 'cause U'ilani doesn't really exist.

TMZ tracked down the actual woman in the photo -- Donna Tei -- who lives in Carson, CA. When we asked Donna and her father if they had a connection to Te'o, he told us, "We don't even know the guy."

Tei's father went on to explain the photo is of his daughter, Donna, and his wife. He claims the pic was stolen off of Facebook.

So how -- and why -- did "Lennay" decide to steal Donna's cemetery pics? We would ask Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, but he seems to have gone into hiding.

Manti Te'o is telling friends ... he knew the truth about Lennay Kekua in early December ... but continued the lie for 20 days for the sake of his team.

Sources connected to Te'o say ... it's true what ND Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said Wednesday night, that Manti realized he had been hoaxed on Dec. 6, when he got a phone call from "Lennay" ... months after he thought she was dead.

But sources tell us ... Manti didn't tell his coaches about the hoax until Dec. 26 ... because he thought it would be a huge distraction while the team prepared to face Alabama in the BCS Championship.

During the 20 days, we're told Manti struggled over how to handle the situation ... but eventually felt compelled to come clean to his coaches.

Manti is currently training for the NFL combine -- and we're told he's getting a lot of support from the guys he's been training with.

Manti Te'o continued to tell people his girlfriend died of cancer even after he learned it was all a big hoax ... and this is according to Notre Dame's public version of the facts.

During a news conference Wednesday night, ND Athletic Director Jack Swarbrick said ... Manti told ND officials that he first learned the whole thing was a hoax when he received a call from his GF's phone number during an ESPN award show in December ... months after she was presumed dead.

The ESPN college football awards ceremony took place in Orlando on Dec. 6 -- but just two days later, on Dec. 8, Te'o gave a statement to reporters in anticipation of the Heisman Trophy ceremony, in which he continued to perpetuate the belief that his girlfriend had died from cancer.

Te'o told reporters ... “I don’t like cancer at all. I lost both my grandparents and my girlfriend to cancer,” this according to WSBT-TV.

We now know Manti's statement wasn't true -- and by Notre Dame's own account, Manti lied.

Manti Te'o and his non-existent girlfriend Lennay Kekua went public with their relationship in January 2012 ... and continued to date until she died in September ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ spoke with "Jan" ... a Notre Dame superfan who struck up an online friendship with "Lennay" through Twitter back in 2011.

According to Jan, Lennay had always maintained that she was friendly with Manti ... but didn't reveal that she was his "girlfriend" until January.

The timeline begs one really big question ... in 9 months, two college students at top universities (Lennay maintained she went to Stanford) didn't have one video chat session??

Manti Te'o's emotions were too real ... too authentic ... to have been lying about the fate of Lennay Kekua -- this according to the family of a 12-year-old cancer victim who met with the Notre Dame star after the death of his supposed girlfriend.

TMZ spoke with Brian and Louise Smith -- who received a letter from Manti back in October when he learned their 12-year-old daughter, Bridget, was suffering from cancer.

In his letter to the family, Manti said he knew what they were going through, since his girlfriend had just passed away from cancer.

After Bridget passed away, Manti met with her parents and they shared an emotional moment together.

Louise tells TMZ ... Manti was full of humility and kindness when they met ... and only cared about how they were doing in light of the family tragedy.

Louise says he seemed like such an honest, real person ... "It's very hard for me to believe he made this up. I don't believe it for a second."

"There's no way this guy knew anything about this hoax."

Louise also says ... after the family received the initial letter from Manti, she reached out to Te'o and asked if she could share the details of the letter with the media.

Louise says Manti replied, "That's up to you ... it was for you and your family. You do with it what you wish."

Her point -- Manti was not about the publicity, but felt a real connection over what he thought was a real loss.

Are you buyin' what he's sellin'?

The Manti Te'o not-really-dead-girlfriend hoax was perpetuated by a man named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo -- who served as a representative for the family of the fake "Lennay Kekua" ... and TMZ has the photo proof.

Here's what we know ...

While Manti was "dating" Lennay ... a Notre Dame die-hard fan who we'll call "Jan" (to protect her identity) reached out to Lennay on Twitter and began an online friendship.

After Lennay's supposed death, Jan became involved with a group called "Wear a Lei 4 Manti" -- in which fans wore Hawaiian leis to ND football games to show their support for the football star.

When the "Wear a Lei 4 Manti" movement began to receive media attention, Jan says she noticed she gained a Twitter follower named U'ilani Rae Kekua.

Jan tells TMZ ... she reached out to U'ilani and asked if she was related to Lennay -- to which U'ilani replied, "Yes, that's my baby sister." The two became friends.

In fact, Jan says they both mentioned how they were going to attend the Notre Dame vs. USC game in L.A. on November 24, 2012 ... so Jan sent U'ilani her cell phone number in case she wanted to meet up.

Here's where the story takes a turn ... Jan tells TMZ she got a phone call from U'ilani on the day of the game directing her to the famous Tommy Trojan statue in front of the stadium, so they could meet up.

But when Jan arrived to the statue, U'ilani was NOT there ... but guess who was -- Ronaiah Tuiasosopo. Jan and Ronaiah even took a photo together (see above).

According to the Deadspin article, Ronaiah was the person who obtained the photo of the woman everyone believed to be Lennay ... and is suspected of having a major role in the hoax.

Jan tells us Ronaiah was with a little girl during the USC meeting who they called Pookah -- and together, they explained how Lennay's sister couldn't come down to visit, so U'ilani sent them instead. Jan says Ronaiah "made it seem as if he was a member of Lennay's family."

After Jan and Ronaiah took the picture together -- Jan says Ronaiah began to act paranoid ... and told her, "Make sure you don't post this photo online."

Soon after the game, Jan says she was contacted by U'ilani ... who also urged her NOT to post the picture of Ronaiah. She didn't explain why.

U'ilani later sent a photo to Jan showing a woman at a cemetery -- and told her, "This is me and my family at Lennay's gravesite. We're spending the day here."

Clearly, the woman in the photo is not U'ilani ('cause she doesn't really exist) ... and some digging suggests the woman in the photo is actually a woman named Donna Tei, who doesn't seem to have a relationship with anyone involved in the hoax.

There's more ... Jan tells TMZ Lennay's "sister" continued to reach out to her after the USC game ... and delivered some more bad news -- that little Pookah had been diagnosed with lupus and was dying in a children's hospital in Orange County, CA.

Jan said she wanted to send flowers -- so Lennay's "sister" gave her an address. TMZ has learned the address belongs to a member of the Tuiasosopo family.

Jan also gave us the phone number Lennay's sister would use to contact her -- and we found out the number is registered to a man named Titus Tuiasosopo -- Ronaiah's father.

Notre Dame is circling the wagons on the Manti Te'o not-really-dead-girlfriend hoax ... TMZ has learned the school has instructed staff to keep their mouths shut ... or else.

One person connected to the program tells us ... officials have warned staff, if they speak to the media about the scandal without permission from the University, they will "never work for Notre Dame again."

The ND athletic director already held a news conference last night, saying the University believes Manti is an innocent victim who was hoaxed by some cyber-bullies for no apparent reason.

The initial article published by Deadspin.com suggests Manti may have been involved in concocting the hoax in an effort to gain publicity on a national level.

Manti is expected to address the media later today.

Well, that didn't take long ...

Following in the tradition of Tebowing, owling and planking ... the Internet has given birth to a new trend -- Te'oing ... inspired by the Manti Te'o not-really-dead-girlfriend scandal.

Here's what you do ... put your arm around your invisible girlfriend ... and take a photo.

It's hilarious ... and it's already blowing up.

Wanna see a world famous DJ accidentally set his hair on fire while blowing out his birthday candles? YOU'RE IN LUCK ... because Tuesday night in L.A., that's exactly what Skrillex did.

It all went down at a private event space in Hollywood -- the DJ leaned over his birthday cake to blow out the candles ... and boom ... fireworks.

Luckily, someone at the party noticed before serious damage was done, and Skrillex -- real name Sonny Moore -- was able to extinguish the flames.

Skrillex laughed the whole thing off -- before eating his enormous turntable-shaped birthday cake.

Manti Te'o told Notre Dame officials he NEVER met his supposed girlfriend in person ... and only realized her death was a hoax last month ... after receiving a phone call from "Lennay's" cell phone.

Jack Swarbrick -- Director of Athletics at Notre Dame -- called an emergency media conference Wednesday night in the wake of the not-really-dead girlfriend scandal. Here are the highlights:

-- Manti is expected to address the media sometime tomorrow (Thursday).
-- Manti called Notre Dame officials on Dec. 26 ... and alerted them to the hoax.
-- According to Swarbrick, Manti realized Lennay Kekua wasn't dead when he got a phone call from her cell phone at an ESPN award show in December ... months after her supposed death.
-- Manti claims the woman who called from "Lennay's" phone was the same person who he had spoken with during his relationship with Lennay.
-- Manti says the woman informed him that Lennay was not dead ... because she was not real.
-- Swarbrick says Manti met with a media team, who had planned to release the story to the media next week ... but they were scooped by Deadspin.
-- Manti told ND officials he had gone to Hawaii to meet Lennay in person on several occasions, but she never showed up.
-- ND believes that Manti was targeted because he's too nice of a guy ... and the perps took pleasure in humiliating him.

Swarbrick also said, "This was a very elaborate, very sophisticated hoax perpetrated for reasons we can't fully understand but had a certain cruelty at its core."