Something Was Wrong - S6 E1: So Many Lies | Kaelyn

Episode Date: October 26, 2020

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Hey, prime members, you can listen to something was wrong early and add free on Amazon music. Download the app today. I'm Candace DeLong and on my new podcast, Killer Psychy Daily, I share a quick 10-minute rundown every weekday on the motivations and behaviors of the cold-butter killers you read about in the news. Listen to the Amazon Music Exclusive Podcast Killer Psychy Daily in the Amazon Music exclusive podcast killer psyche daily in the Amazon Music app. Download the app today. Something was wrong, covers mature topics that can be triggering. Topics such as emotional,

physical, and sexual abuse. Please, as always, use caution when listening. Opinions of guests on the show are their own, and don't necessarily reflect my views or the views of this podcast. Please note, I am not a therapist or a doctor. If you or someone you love is experiencing a suicidal crisis or emotional distress, please call 1-800-273-8255. For more resources, visit somethingwaswrong.com-resources. Thank you so much. October is Domestic Orr Intimate Partner, Violence Awareness Month. Since 1981 in the United States, Domestic Violence Awareness Month has intended to unite advocates across the nation

in their efforts to end domestic violence. Communities and advocacy organizations across the country connect with the public and one another throughout the month to raise awareness about the signs of abuse, the ways to stop it, and uplift survivor stories and provide additional resources to leaders and policymakers. To find more resources or for ways to help support survivors, visit thehotline.org. I wanted to take a moment to say thank you again to Julia, Kelly, and Rachel for sharing their stories last season. I also just want to say I appreciate every single one of you for just being here and listening. Over the upcoming holiday season, I'll be interviewing a variety of guests, both listeners

and therapists on a variety of topics, and I'm excited. Lastly, before I get into today's episode, I'd like to thank something was wrong's newest Patreon supporters who have joined to support the podcast. Renee, Quinn, Tara, Wilhelmina, Jennifer, Kristi, Casey, Liz, Gabrielle, Ashley, Lily, Naomi, Megan, Allison, Becca, Shawn, Katie, Tracy, and Ryan. Thank you so much for your support. Today's interview features Kaylyn, who I actually discovered thanks to many of you. Kaylyn was shocked when her TikTok video went viral. It currently has over 6.5 million views.

Here's the audio from Kaylyn's TikTok video. Put a finger down if your friend was getting married and you didn't know anyone at the wedding, so she says that you can sit with her friend Tyler after you get to know him. So you start to text Tyler every day for about three to four months. Get pretty close, but then he doesn't show. That's okay, you guys are still friends. You're still gonna talk to him. Few more months pass, and he ends up giving a girlfriend named Lexi, who he eventually knocks up. At this point, Lexi goes crazy, starts making his life a living

hell, and he develops depression issues. After talking to Tyler about his depression, you say that he needs to leave Lexi for his general health, and while being, but he decides that the best course of action is to commit suicide. So for years, you harbor all this guilt, not knowing what to do or say to save your friend, and knowing that he's gone forever. About 10 years later, he find out that nobody in the story was ever real, and that you were catfished by your friend who got married. Make me don't know me, make me don't Thinking of me, you don't know me well You think of me, make me don't know me well Let it all, let it all, let it all

Let it all, let it all, let it all My name is Kaylyn Nehramyer. I am 28 years old. I live in Northwestern, Pennsylvania. I currently work at a Ville Hospital as an RN, and I'm here to tell you about how I was catfished by one of my good friends. I originally met Kristen through a Facebook status that was posted. Somebody that I knew from the town I grew up in had posted a random number stating that they were trying to figure out who it belonged to.

So, I was bored, had nothing really better to do and began texting this number to see if I could figure out who it was for them. After talking to this person for so long, we ended up just be asking about other things, not even relevant to the Facebook status, and kind of headed off just from that, which I know is the honest way to meet somebody. But that is how I met her. We ended up becoming friends and started hanging out from from there. I never ended up telling the person on Facebook that that's who it was either. When we had first started texting, she had told me originally about a girl named Lexi who had consistently harassed her. She stated that Lexi was her older brother's ex-girlfriend. Her older brother, his name was Ryan and he had apparently died in a car accident and Lexi just harbored all this hate towards Kristen. I'm not sure if it was because of the accident

or if it was because of just drama in general from when they were together, but that was what she had told me, was that they just never got along, and it was just a constant texting harassment, bad drama all the time. Me being the naive 19 year old that I was during this time, tried to intervene in the situation, and just wanted to make things right. So I began to text this Lexi girl as well

to try and figure out what the problem was, and if there was a way that we could solve it all together After talking to Lexi for a little bit she did decide that we could all meet up together and talk in person So I say that we could do it at my house I had Kristen come over and we waited for Lexi for about an hour before we determined she wasn't gonna show When we went outside To go back to Kristen's car. we saw a huge scratch on the side of the car and a note that was left on the windshield saying, I don't know, am I allowed to swear?

Yes, please. Okay. It said, it said, fuck you bitch on the note. And that was basically the end of that. After that point, I had no longer tried to get along with Lexi. We just kind of kept her out of distance. And I was just more trying to be a supportive friend for Kristen during this trialing time for her.

This continued to go on for quite a long time. She, Kristen told me that she drove a white Jeep that had a pink browning sticker on the back of it. Sometimes when we were hanging out, we would see her driving around town in this vehicle. I know that there were sometimes that we would even drive by her house and things like that, just to see like what she was doing, which I know now is incredibly inappropriate. And I would never condone that kind of behavior, but once again, I was 19 years old and I was very, very and I was very, very easy to manipulate.

So as this time went on more, basically she had started harassing me as well and Kristen, and it just kind of went on like that for quite a while, really. When I first started talking to Kristen, she was starting to get closer to her wedding date because I had never really hung out with her other than the few times that we did with just the two of us.

I didn't know any of her friends. I'd only met her family a handful of times, but even during the wedding, obviously, they would be sitting at a different table. And Kristen wanted me to come to her wedding, but I just didn't know who I would sit with or who I would even bring, because I was recently single and didn't really know anybody.

So you told me I should start talking to her friend Tyler that she had grown up with since she was a little kid and because he was saying the same thing apparently to her that he didn't know who to sit with. We started texting Tyler and I did about three or four months before the wedding and we'd out pretty close during those months. I would say we probably talked at least every day. I know that we flirted.

I don't think that we ever really like sexed it or got like super intimate or personal like in that sense, but I definitely enjoyed his company and I enjoyed his friendship. When the wedding came, he ended up not showing up. When I asked him why he didn't show, he said that it was because he still had feelings for Kristen.

Apparently he had some big crush on her and he couldn't see himself watching her marry somebody else basically. I said, I understood that. Godless because we weren't really a thing at that time. So I had no right to be jealous about that. And I saw him kind of as more as a friend anyways at that point. So I brush it off and said that that was okay. We could still talk and it would be fine. We had stoped state friends for a little bit

after the wedding until he started dating Lexi, the one that was harassing us from the beginning. After he started dating Lexi, he was no longer allowed to talk to me and if he did, it was always very rude and ignorant, just once again, the harassment that Lexi caused kind of keen through Tyler at some points as well. I hadn't talked to him for a really long time until he messaged me one night, telling me that he was extremely depressed and that Lexi had got pregnant

and was making his life tell. He said that she was never gonna to let him live a normal life again and was going to take him for everything he had and he would never have the kind of life that he wanted because she was pregnant with his baby. You know, he told me he wanted to kill himself and I kept trying to talk to him. I remember staying up and told probably four in the morning that night I was driving around. I was texting Kristen trying to figure out where he could be so I could meet him and get him to not do anything stupid. And around four in the morning, he texted me, I'm sorry,

okay, I can't do it. And that was the last thing that I heard from Tyler. I had a really hard time with that, especially because we had been kind of fighting. So I had guilt from the fight that we had on top of guilt from not being able to stop him. Not that that was anything to do with me, but you know, it was a 19 year old,

you just wanna save the world, and when you can't even save your friend, it's really hard on your heart. The funeral was arranged for a couple of days later, and I asked Kristen if we could go together. I got ready and was dressed and ready to go. Went to oil city to meet up with Kristen and she had a complete breakdown. Just started crying, saying that she didn't want to see Tyler like that.

She did tell me that he was cremated so that was kind of a red flag bear right from the beginning. But we ended up just getting lunch instead because she didn't, she didn't want to go and she didn't want to be around Lexi and she just didn't want to be in that type of environment. I tried to respect that decision even though I really wanted to go and so I just tried to be a good friend and stay with Kristen during the day. After that, things with Lexi and Tyler kind of calmed down for a while. After that, things with Lexi and Tyler kind of calmed down for a while. I was supposed to buy a vehicle off of Tyler because I was really desperate for a vehicle at the time and he stated that he had an SUV that he was going to sell me for a really good price. So after the passing of him, I told Kristen that it was really unfortunate that that happened because I still really needed a vehicle and I was hoping that I could still get it somehow. She said that he had a younger sister that she could give me her number and that her name was Emily and I can meet up with Emily probably and get the vehicle from her. So then I started texting Emily.

I had tried to meet up with her at least three or four times before I gave up because she never showed. I've even gone to her workplace. She stated that she worked at the Walmart in Crayon Berry. So I even went there and was like asking if anyone knew what department she worked in so I could see her. And I remember a scheduler even telling me that she made the schedule and there was no Emily backstreet there. I asked Kristen about it later and she stated that the schedule or the schedule was newer to the facility, and probably just didn't know everybody yet. So, once again, I blew it off. Eventually, it just dropped the whole thing in general, because it was just never

going to go anywhere, and I was tired of wasting my time. About that time, it was pretty close to the time that Kristen ended up moving to Florida. So, when she moving to Florida. So when she moved to Florida, I really didn't hear from Lexi hardly at all anymore. Like that the whole drama kind of faded because I wasn't really around Kristen anymore. So I wasn't really a target to those people anymore. So I would still see Kristen every once in a while when she would come home and visit. And you know, we would talk on Facebook and that. But otherwise our friendship kind of died out when she moved away. It wasn't until nursing school we were in a lecture and we were all talking about

suicide. Everyone was opening up about their stories about what they had gone through with the situations and I decided to share my story so I told them about Tyler and how it always bothered me you know that I couldn't find the right words to say and to stop my friend from, you know, taking his own life. And you know, how did an emotional moment basically everyone in that class was crying that day. And it got my mind starting to think about him again. So I got on Facebook to see if I could find his old profile.

I did end up finding it. And when I investigated further, it said that he had posted something about six months ago, stating that he moved to Florida. So that automatically triggered some red flags to me. Instead of calling her out completely, I messaged Kristen and asked, once again, if she could send me an obituary, because that was one thing that I had always asked her about in the past, but she always had some type of excuse for why it was was an obtainable or she would just say, oh yeah, I'll send it to you and then you know, things would get forgotten and I never would bring it up. So I brought it up again. This was

about five or six years after his death. I had asked again. I had tried looking it up by myself as well, obviously, but I couldn't find anything. And I really don't remember what excuse she gave me, but it was something that I had believed because I don't even know. I was very impressionable. As I got older, I feel like more of those red flags

did stick out though though and catfish became more of the TV show and everything came out. So it did seem like more of a plausible explanation for what was happening than all the stories that she had told me before. So she said she would get it to me a few days past and nothing was shown. So I'd ask her again and she'd be like, oh yeah, yeah, I'm at my boyfriend's house. Like I don't have good service, but I'll send it to you and a few more days past. And this just kept happening over and over again until I was obviously getting

extremely suspicious. So instead of asking any further from her, I messaged her now ex-husband the one that she got married to during all of this from the beginning and I asked him about these people that she was telling me about the Lexi and Tyler and Emily. I figured if anyone was going to know who these people were, it would have been her ex-husband because obviously he would know about a girl who was constantly harassing her and a boy that she grew up with since she was a child, you know. So I asked Sack and he told me he had never heard of any of those people. I told him I think that she had catfished me and he told me that he would believe that because when they were together, he would see her sitting in the driveway in her car on

multiple phones, texting people. Obviously, I was extremely upset finding this out, so I'm on such Kristen and said, apparently, Zach doesn't even know who these people are, and she read that and immediately blocked me after that moment. So basically around that point, I knew. I never got like any closure from her until just recently, but I mean I basically ever it was about five or six years that I had held all that guilt and ignorance for. This spring I had I was on my Instagram feed and a boy that follows me and I followed him. I don't even know who he is to be honest with you, which yes, I know I should probably be more careful with my socials, but I don't really think anything of it at the time, but I saw that he had posted a picture with him

in Kristen standing together. And I immediately got anxious and upset. I thought that she was trying to use his account to get a look in my life, and that made me extremely uneasy. So I messaged him and I asked if Kristen told him to follow me. He said no, and was it extremely confused? I wasn't trying to ruin her reputation or her friendship that she may have developed, and I was trying to just let things go, because I thought, you know, in my head that this was just like a one-time thing that she had done and we all make mistakes, so I didn't want to.

I just, I wasn't trying to ruin her life. So I didn't really say anything. I was just like, oh, okay, well, whatever, it's fine. And I just kind of let it be at that. Shortly after Kristen messaged me asking why I asked him that question. And I said, because it seemed like something he you would do and I was just really uncomfortable about the idea of you getting involved in my life like that again because you really, you know, screwed me over and messed with my emotions and my mental health for years to come because of what you did, you know. She ended up apologizing, saying that she knows that she screwed up and that she had changed so much and learned a lot over the years. I did ask her at that point if she could just tell me the truth and tell me if any of those people were real, even though I knew they

weren't, I just wanted to hear her say it. She ended up telling me that it was just a big lie, uh, was something that her cousin had started according to her and she got roped into doing. She said she knew some other people of the picture she was using but most of them she did it new and that she just kind of it became a habit for her and like an addiction. I told her that I understood and I was sorry that she could have told me earlier but I forgive her because I have to for my own my own growth. I have to forgive her and that I you know I wish her the best in life. And that's basically the last time that I've talked to her. I ended up kind of pushing it

in the back of my brain from that point point on until August. I saw that catfish episode. She was on a catfish episode, but instead of her being the one that was catfishing, saw that catfish episode. She was on a catfish episode, but instead of her being the one that was catfishing, somebody was catfishing her. So I obviously watched the episode. I was interested to see what had happened, and I come to find out that she, Kristen had catfished multiple people, and one of them who her name is Tiffany, ended up catfishing her back in order to get revenge, and that was what the whole catfish episode was about.

So after hearing that she had catfish so many other people, it really sparked something inside of me where I just was extremely frustrated. And I think even more hurt. It's one thing to hurt me, but when I find out that you're hurting like so many other people continuously, like you didn't learn anything, that's like what I had like the hardest time with.

So I ended up making that tick-tock and it blew up. I never expected it to get back kind of attention and I've just been getting so many questions and support since then. I've even had people reach out to me about their own cat, their stories, which has been a great opportunity to try and help people or even just relate with other people that have been through the same thing. Because I know that it's not an easy thing to understand. I know some people would never buy into something like that, but there are impressionable minds that fall for the stories that people make up pretty easily. And so it is, it has been very nice to to reflect on other people and build together in our in our experiences, you know. But that's that's basically the story. I don't know if you have any other questions of things I didn't cover. I have so many questions. It's an incredible story.

And I think what really stands out to me from the beginning is this ability that Kristen has to keep up with so many different plot lines. Looking back, what are the red flags that you see now that at the time you excused because you gave her the benefit of the doubt? Well, I think I like, obviously the biggest red flag was the fact that somebody was sharing her phone number on social media.

Like, obviously she was probably harassing somebody from the get and I was just like, oh, hey, let me be friends with this person. Like, that's probably the biggest like, ace pa moment that I can think of that is embarrassing to even talk about. But hey, obviously, you explain that to me a little, right? So she had posted on Facebook? No, it was somebody that I knew from high school. Like said, doesn't like, they posted a status saying, does anybody know whose number this is? And so I started texting it trying to figure out. Oh, okay. Well, to be right now. And also when you hear of a different

kind of generation when it came to the internet, when I first was on the internet and high school and things like that, before catfish, you've been came out, you know, it was a different world. We have so much more awareness, like you said, of of these sorts of things now and the age that you were, it's completely understandable to me that you got caught up in something like this. I think, like you said, sometimes we don't recognize that like we need more boundaries with social media and things like that until stuff like this happens. Exactly.

So that's how you started talking to her. And then with Lexi, she was introduced actually before Tyler. So Lexi was introduced to you as Kristen's brother's ex girlfriend. So they had broken up and then Lexi's like harassing her because she's mad about situation happened with Kristen's brother in Lexi.

Right. And I was apparently after, and I just realized this after talking to Tiffany because I did reach out to Tiffany because I had a lot of questions as well. And I mean, we were from different towns. So like nobody really knew Kristen that I knew. So I did, we were from, we were from different towns. So like nobody really knew Kristen that I knew. So I did, I asked her about Ryan, which was Kristen's brother. And like,

I, because I was wondered if he was even real. And I asked if he did die in the car accident. And she said that Kristen was the oldest, like she didn't even have a brother. Nope. Hi, I'm Lindsey Graham, the host of Wondery's podcast American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history. Presidential lies, environmental disasters, corporate fraud. In our newest series, we look at the Kids for Cash Scandal, a story about corruption inside America's system

of juvenile justice. In Northeastern Pennsylvania, residents had begun noticing an alarming trend. Children were being sent away to jail in high numbers, and often for committing only minor offenses. The FBI began looking at two local judges, and when the full picture emerged, it made national headlines. The judges were earning a fortune, carrying out a brazen criminal scheme, one that would shatter the lives of countless children,

and force a heated debate about punishment and America's criminal justice system. Follow American scandal wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen ad-free on the Amazon music or Wonder App. What kinds of things did you start talking with Tyler about before the wedding? Was it just basically like sort of dating and then he admitted that he was in love with Kristen basically and that's why he wasn't able to attend the wedding

but before that it was kind of like the idea was that basically Kristen was doing you this favor by hooking him up with her friend. Yeah, she was trying to hook us up but like I don't... I feel like we just kind of talked like normal. Like I don't feel like there was anything like too crazy we talked about, but yeah, I don't know. I feel like I did flirt with him though. I just feel like I repressed a lot of this stuff because it was for one so long ago at this

point. And obviously it was traumatic. So I feel like I did push a lot of it to the back. And I really, I just don't remember to be honest with you, but I don't think that it was anything too crazy, but just like, I mean, I'd probably call it in Q and said like, we should hang out after the wedding too, like maybe we can like go somewhere. You know what I mean? Like nothing, nothing super inappropriate or like forward, but like, I definitely, I had to have flirted because, you know K-Lin and that's who I am as a person. But nothing wrong with flirting. So then afterward, after the wedding, he doesn't show he's too in

love with Kristen. What is Kristen, is Kristen talking to you a lot at this time about Tyler and Lexi when you and her are communicating? Oh yeah, that was basically all we would talk about, like all that we would talk about during those times. She would be like, look at what Lexi sent me and now Tyler's doing this and now Lexi did this and so and so ran into them here and like it was so involved. Like it was just ridiculous, like the stories and stuff.

And obviously, like, why would you think that those people were fake? You know what I mean? If there's three of them for one, there's three different people. So it's time to make up three different people with all of these stories. And then like the jeep and everything, which I did actually, I found out who drove that jeep. And it was somebody else that Kristen was harassing. And I apologize to her for myself because I just remember the one day that we stopped and she like left a little Debbie snack on her like where when she old and said, fuck you, you fat bitch, like on a note and left it for. But like in my head, I thought was for Lexi. So I'm like, yeah, whatever, she's a bitch. Like I can't stay on that girl. She killed my friend,

like in my head, you know what I mean? And I ended up finding out who it was though. And I was like, I'm sorry, I was like, I'm sorry. I was like, I mean, I never, I never did anything, but I was in the car when, you know, she would be driving around sometimes. So I still feel like I should apologize, but we're actually on good terms now. And I feel like it's somebody else I can talk to about her

that actually knows who she is as a person. So that's kind of nice in that manner, but yeah, it's just so many lies. I can't even imagine like what it's like to unpack something like that and it's gaslighting on so many different levels. So after the wedding and you continue your relationship with Tyler, Lexi and Tyler got together and then did Lexi still contact you throughout this? I know it started

before you even met Tyler but when did it and I don't I don't feel like it really I don't think it ever really ended until Kristen moved and even when she moved it still like was there every once in a while but it just wasn't as frequent but no because even when she had Tyler she would or Lexi would always text me and like rub it in my face like that he wasn't allowed to be my friend anymore and She would just always say things like I can't I won't be happy until Kristen is six feet under with her brother and like stuff like that So like obviously I hate this girl like she's always harassing both of us like that

So I don't think I ever stopped until until Chris moved away. Wow. Can you talk to me a little bit about when Tyler started talking to you about feeling like he was going to take his own life and what that experience was like? I remember I was still mad at him because obviously he just like up and stopped talking to me for this girl that we had told him was trash from the beginning. So when he told me he was miserable and like well then leave, like you have plenty of support it be so easy to just walk out of it. And as soon as he said anything about suicide, I was like, oh, I don't think you're going to be that drastic about it, but I didn't really have a lot of experience with stuff like that. In general, I didn't really know what to say or like how to help somebody in that situation, more than just like I wanted to be there. So I knew he wouldn't. But since I had never met him

before, obviously, I didn't know where to go. Like I didn't know where he lived and he what it tell me where he was. And I don't I don't remember everything he said. I just remember that it was literally like between a six and eight hour conversation of just texting before he stopped. But obviously towards the end, I was a little more caring and frantic for trying to help him. But in the beginning, I was probably a little more short in reserve because I was upset with him, you know.

Right. How did you end up finding out that he had taken his life then? Like, did Kristen tell you? Yeah, she told me that, because I eventually got a hold of her and asked if she could go over to his house because he wasn't right in the back anymore. And she said she went over there and that his parents had walked in and found him laying on the ground

With a gun and that he had shot himself in the head So that's why they had to cremate him and Yeah, that's basically how I found out it was through Kristen everything was always through Kristen I feel like that would be absolutely devastating. Oh, yeah. I was really upset. I feel like I was more upset because I couldn't stop him. You know what I mean? I feel like I just had so much guilt about that.

And I did. I broke down and I had a really hard time with it for a long time. I mean, even to this day, there's like certain songs that like, you know, you always listen to the songs that like the lyrics match how you're feeling and your cry songs, you know, we all have our cry songs. And I still, like the ones that I harbor are like had for him for those moments, I still like can't listen to you to this day,

which is crazy me, because I know the truth now and I still like that's all I think about was like how I was feeling during those times and I just, I just refrain from listening to that because it's easier, but I had a really, really hard time. I bet. What was Kristen's response to Tyler's suicide like? She was really emotional about it too, so I don't know how she played it so well. She should be an actress, I think, because I don't know how you can show that kind of an

emotion to somebody that you've made up yourself, you know? But especially when we were going to go to the funeral, like she really did, like she was like crying, I was like, I just don't want to, I can't do it, I don't want to be around him like that. So, I mean, it was totally believable. I thought that she lost her childhood friend. So once you started suspecting that this was BS, you had that aha moment in your nursing class

and you went and looked on Facebook and saw that Tyler was, quote, still alive and had moved to Florida. Like, what were you thinking? Were you thinking that like he had just made up? They had just made up that he had committed suicide or were you automatically like, oh, this is Kristen? I first thought this is Kristen, but then I was like,

well, how though, because there was two other people involved. So I was like, it was either Kristen catfishing me or maybe he just didn't want anything to do with me anymore and Lexi was going to make his life hell unless like I was out of the picture. So he like faked it or something. Like I don't know. My brain was everywhere trying to elaborate how any of it could make sense, but I figured that reaching out to her and trying to get her to bust recover was my best my best option for figuring out the truth. So that is what I attempted. So when you reached out to her ex husband, that's when he told you that he wouldn't be he had no idea who these people were. Number one, which is like huge red flag and then two that he would catch her with multiple phones in the parking lot at Walmart. Is that what you know in a driveway at their house?

Oh, at their house. So she was doing this for multiple phones even? Yeah, apparently. Yeah. Okay, so then after you spoke with the ex and you confronted Kristen, she blocked you. And then later she did admit that it was her, correct? And she apologized and said, like, I'm moving on with my life, whatever.

And that was when would you say? Oh, this was this spring. So I would say like March or April. So right before the episode comes out. Right. Because the episode came out in August. Well, not right before, but this year. Like so much of this is just taking place.

So then she says, I'm sorry, like basically I moved on from that and acted like that was her only time that she had catfish. Somebody was you. Uh huh. Uh huh. Can you just talk about what it was like watching her catfish episode and what that experience was like for you after being through what you had been through with her. Well, as soon as I saw that it was her,

I immediately thought that it was gonna be the table's turn, obviously. I thought that, like, Kristen would have just been, like, somebody's friend during the episode and then, like, found out that she was the one cat fishing them. So to see that it was, like, from the other angle, like, that she was talking to somebody, just irritated me, like to know, especially because like in the beginning of the episode, they're all like, oh, we like her, like she's so sweet, like I really hope that this works out and I'm like, you don't even know, like you don't even know what she's capable of, it's so it just like

impuriated me. And then like even by the end of it, I mean obviously all the truth came out, but And then like even by the end of it, I mean obviously all the truth came out, but yeah, I was just like it It was a little satisfied. I know that's that's probably not the most mature thing to say, but just that You know, she got some karma back to her and I hope that maybe now that it's such a public thing about her She can change, but I mean, I don't know how somebody like that can change when it's been so many people that you've heard and you still continue with that kind of lifestyle, but I don't know, I'll pray for her. I was able to find it like one place online. I guess they had to take it down because, but like somebody's kids were shown on the episode and that's why they had to take it down. That's my understanding. Yeah, from what I was told from Tiffany,

it was like, Kristen was using the pictures of different children and seeing that they had passed away or something. And that was, I think that I might be saying this wrong, but I'm pretty sure that that was the experience that Tiffany had with Kristen. Was Kristen manipulated Tiffany into thinking that some little girl had passed away

and they ended up sending like money and stuff to this family that didn't exist when it was twisted in return or something like that. So because it was like kids were involved in like pictures of those kids, they took the episode down because they MTV didn't want like any legal action with that. So I think that that's basically what it was. Yeah, that makes sense. You never spoke on the phone.

I'm assuming with Tyler, Alexey, or Emily, it was all over text. Right. I mean, I had definitely tried, because I know that that's what other people said to you. Like, you never thought to call him. But like, I definitely had tried, especially Tyler. I was always trying to hang out with him

or like talk to him on the phone, but he always had like some type of excuse. Like, oh, well, I'm at work. I'll call you after, oh, sorry, I fell asleep or ended up getting stuck later. You know, something like that. Like, there was always some type of excuse that I just bought into. So, it was all texting. There was nothing else else other than that. It seemed like those sort of tactics were the same ones that she was like claiming that we're being used against her. And that's like the ultimate thing that stood out to me about seeing Kristen on the episode.

She has done all of these horrific things and catfish so many people, and yet her cousin has now nominated her and made her essentially like the victim. She just seems to have an ability to manipulate people in a very real way. Yeah, absolutely. Well, and then actually this was another funny thing

I had found out from Tiffany. She told me, because I know in that catfish episode, she talks about how they got divorced because she caught her husband cheating on her, her husband's husband. Yeah, I was gonna ask you about that. Was that BS? Well, yeah, because apparently I was the one

that slept with him is what Tiffany told me. So I'm like, uh, no, it definitely never did that. Was that BS? Well, yeah, because apparently I was the one that slept with him is what Tiffany told me. So I'm like, uh, no, I definitely never did that. Um, but that was what Kristen told Tiffany. Like she showed her my picture and said this is who it was. And I was like, oh, okay, I guess I'm a home rep or no, but no, I don't know. I doubt it was true unless it was somebody else and she just wanted to use my picture for something, but I honestly doubt it. So. How would you describe the impact emotionally

that going through something like that has on you and your ability to sort of trust yourself and future relationships? I definitely have been more protective of my emotions. I mean, even since those TikTok thing blew up, I've gotten so many friend requests on Facebook and Instagram that I just have been ignoring because obviously I don't know these people like for all I know they could just be Christian, you know, making another account.

So, and I have a daughter now, so I don't really want a bunch of strangers on my page that I don't know. So, I think that I've been a lot smarter in cases like that. Obviously, I don't put as much public for everyone to see. I'm still pretty trusting in the basis of just being friendly with people. I probably shouldn't. I'm not going to lie. I feel like I, I just decompose with basically everybody. It doesn't matter who they are,

what they've done to be, I'm just like, oh, it's okay, like, forgive them, let go, like we're good, we're fine. So, I don't think it's ruined too much of my character. I think it's made me more, I think it's just really, I think it's just been like something I've kind of pushed away for so long that I don't know how it's affected me because I've never really talked about it before I guess.

After all this stuff had happened, I got in a relationship with somebody that didn't understand it at all. So anytime I would talk about Tyler or like cry about him, he would just be like, I don't know why you care, you never met met him or you know he was just very like emotionally abusive so I feel like because of that I repressed a lot of it and it hasn't really come out until talking about it now because I just never talked about it really before. So that makes a lot of sense. Yeah. And I think sometimes we do that in life to survive Yeah, absolutely, you know and you compartmentalizing you're like, okay, or I need to focus on my kid right now Like that's what's most important or nursing school or whatever else you have going on obviously a very painful What has it been like posting the video on TikTok and seeing the response and getting all the comments from people?

I think that the internet is also very capable of emotional abuse. It can be very, like you said, it can be very great and you connect with other people and very positive. But then I also recognize that there's a lot of people who will question you or insult you and it's, you know, unwarranted because you don't deserve that. But, you know, it's definitely part of the unwarranted because you don't deserve that, but, you know, it's definitely part of the process of sharing your story sometimes. Right. And I definitely did get some, some lash back, for sure. But it is hard, you know, seeing those comments and like the victim blaming or the why didn't you think to ever call him? Like, what, how can you even be close? Like once again,

just going back to that ex-boyfriend who would always throw that in my head too, you know, I'm just hearing the same things basically. So it does make you upset. Like you, I mean, it's not like I don't already think that for myself. Like I already look back at myself at 19 and think, why don't you look further into that? Like you could have avoided so much

if you just protected yourself a little bit better. You know what I mean? But I can't change the past, but I can hopefully change somebody's future. So that's kind of the outlook I try and focus on. Absolutely. What do you think is like the biggest lesson that you learned through this experience about yourself?

Probably that I am, just too trusting. And I know that it is something that I am still working on to this day. I don't think it's a bad thing to have a good heart, but maybe to just protect it until people deserve it more. But I still think in general it's made me a better person. And it honestly put me on the path to my nursing career, which I am in RN now, which is great. And I love my job. I wouldn't give it. I wouldn't trade it for anything. And I just remember like in the beginning when I was trying to figure out what I wanted

to do, I just always reflected back on not knowing what to say to stop him and thinking that maybe in nursing school, they would talk about that eventually. And I would have better knowledge about how to stop somebody else in the future. I feel like that's kind of what like push me towards nursing more than the other things that I was thinking about doing. So, I got something from it and everything happens for you, isn't it? I know that's pretty general statement, but... It makes sense to me and I definitely try to like come from the place of like, even if everything doesn't necessarily happen for a reason, if people don't believe that or whatever, you can make purpose out of anything that happens to you.

And I think that's so awesome that it like motivated you to go to nursing school. I mean, obviously I think it's horrible that this happened to you. And, but I think that that's great, that it led to something great for you as well. In terms of like after you saw the catfish episode and connected with Tiffany, have you had any other contact with Kristen?

Has she tried to reach out to you since the TikTok or anything like directly? No, I don't know if she just deleted her whole account or if she just deleted me, but I saw that we're not friends on Facebook anymore because I did add her back in the spring when we like had our truths. I didn't really talk to her anymore than that obviously, but like I at least added her friends on Facebook anymore, because I did add her back in the spring when we had our truths. I didn't really talk to her anymore than that, obviously, but I at least added her back on Facebook. But I know that her accounts are all kind of desipated now, especially her Instagram is not even a picture anymore

and her user needs different. But no, she hasn't tried to reach out to me at all. What would you say to somebody who is either thinking about or has catfish somebody else to try to help them understand that the impact that it has on other people? I would just say to really think about it first. Really think about the emotional damage it can cause somebody. I mean, like I said, this has been going on

for like nine to 10 years for me now and it's still it still messes with me and it's probably something that you wouldn't think about after a month you know. And I probably will honestly after all this has come up again, I probably am going to go back to counseling because it's been a while and it's not like I said something I've ever talked about so it would be kind of nice to get a professional opinion on things and see how it probably has affected my life more than I'm seeing right now. But I would just find another way. You want a different perspective on somebody else like just talk to them. You know most people are pretty willing to talk if you just ask the right questions. You don't need some made up imaginary person to get the details, you know. And it is. It can be very detrimental to somebody. And I could even see it like from the other way around. I mean, I did have really bad

depression. That didn't make it any better during that time. So do you really want to be responsible for somebody else's death? Like in real life just because you want to create some character for whatever reason you can come up with, you know? Because I could totally see that happening. I'm sure it probably has happened, you know? So Absolutely, it's you're talking you might be pretending to be a fake person, but you're talking to a real person who has real emotions and feelings and is going to be impacted. And I mean, it just seems so emotionally cruel. It's hard for me to understand and wrap my head around. And you seem extremely forgiving and very able to like see her as a human being. And I really respect that.

What did you kill? What was what was it like sharing with your family and friends, like on a personal note that this happened? What was their response like? I imagine they were very angry for you. Yeah, I feel like though I had only told a couple people. I mean, obviously I told my dad because he was one of the ones that took me a couple times to go get that vehicle from Emily and obviously never showed. But like, even he never saw anything of it. He's just like,

oh, she doesn't want to sell it to you. You know what I mean? He never once was like, oh, it's not a real person, Caitlin. You know what I mean? Especially in that generation, they're not going to see things that way. My mom is a very emotional person. I love her dearly, but she cried when I told her she was very upset and you know obviously asked me if I was okay, but I feel like I've never really shown a lot of emotions to my mother because she's always been the emotional one, so I got this strong one, you know what I mean, but she was probably more upset than anyone, and then I told my best friend Tilly, she's been my best friend for 15 years, so even when that episode and everything came out, I shared that with her and she is just like,

oh my gosh, she couldn't believe it. But she's always been there for me. She's always given me support and listened without judgment. Why do you think Kristen did it? I don't know. I don't know if it was just a boredom or if it was a crush or I just have no idea.

I also don't know if it was like a financial situation too, because from what I've heard from Tiffany's story, they did send money for the cancer treatments or something. I might be wrong on that, but I know that she had given money to this big family. You know what I mean? So in turn, the Tiffany had or that family did. Then with me, she was trying to get me to to buy that vehicle.

Like, and I, I haven't said that from the beginning, though, because she kept trying to send, get me to send the money before I even had the vehicle. And I was like, no, like, I'm obviously going to wait until I get the title. Like, I'm not just going to send you money for something that I don't have yet. So I don't know if I get my, there's been something like that as well or not, but I just really want to say thank you for making the time to come on. And I know our listeners really appreciate you coming on and hearing from you. And I also noticed when I look at your TikTok that you are a singer.

Oh, you have like an amazing singing voice or are you just like, is that just like your secret talent or do you sing to your, to your, your patience or what's happening? So I can sing in front of a camera. I can't sing in front of people, but I mean I enjoy singing and I will take all the constructive criticism you want to give me, but it's just more of a hobby. I do enjoy it, but I don't think that I'm like American. I don't worry. You know what I mean? I don't know, girl. I think you're pretty American. I don't worry. I don't know. I was not as still thing, but like given an amazing voice and you clearly have a beautiful daughter and like so much amazing things happening in your life, and that makes me so happy. So happy to see that. You've gone on and you're successful and

you have your own, you know, successful relationship and so much good stuff in your life too. Thank you so much. I just so appreciate you making the time. And thank you so much for the opportunity. I really appreciate you giving me the chance to tell my truth. So thank you so much. Absolutely. You're thinking of me, you don't know me well at all. Something was wrong is produced and hosted by me, Tiffany Rees. Music on this episode from Glad Rags. Check out their album, Wonder Under. If you'd like to help support the growth of something is wrong, you can help by leaving Wonder Under. warm. That's something with rock.com. You can remain as anonymous as you

need. Thank you so much for listening. But it's not the fault It comes to think to know me But don't know me well Let all of you Let all of you Let all of you You think you know me, you don't know me, you know me You think you know me, you don't know me well You think you know me, you don't know me well I'm a little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, little, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Hey, Prime members, you can listen to something was wrong early and ad-free on Amazon Music. Download the app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple

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