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Wednesday, Jan 30, 2013 10:30 PM UTC

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo “deeply, romantically in love” with Manti Te’o

The perpetrator of an elaborate online hoax involving the Notre Dame linebacker comes forward on Dr. Phil VIDEO

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Topics: Video, Manti Te'o, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, Notre Dame, Dr. Phil, Love, Catfish, online hoax,

Ronaiah Tuiasosopo (Credit: AP Photo/ESPN Images, Ryan Jones)

The Manti Te’o saga enters its third week today.

After Deadspin first broke the story on Jan. 16 that Notre Dame linebacker and Heisman runner-up Manti Te’o's girlfriend — who had supposedly died earlier in the season — wasn’t real, the media began chipping away at an elaborate online hoax that left the media wondering whether Te’o was part of the scheme, or whether he really was somehow duped into falling in love with a fake woman.

Last week, Te’o spoke with Katie Couric to tell his side of the story, maintaining that he was the victim of an online hoax perpetrated by a man he believed to have been the fake girlfriend’s cousin, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo.

This week, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo will speak out in his first televised interview since the story broke. In this preview, released today, Dr. Phil reveals that Tuiasosopo had fallen “deeply, romantically in love” with Te’o. “Are you then therefore gay?” asks Dr. Phil. Tuiasosopo responds, “When you put it that way, yes,” adding, “I am confused.”

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Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com. More Prachi Gupta.

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