Just months before the NFL Draft, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o is at the center of a juicy scandal — a hoax that involves a dead girlfriend and fake romance.
The water cooler story is introducing millions of Americans something called “catfishing,” where someone is drawn into a fake relationship.
Te’o's case comes direct from the file of “you can’t make this stuff up.” In fact, it sounds more like a Hollywood pitch than real life: A college football star winds up a contender for the Heisman trophy, despite his girlfriend dying of leukemia at the start of season.
It’s a storyline sportswriters bought hook line and sinker, only to find out the entire plot was little more than a dream sequence.
After the death of his grandmother and girlfriend on the same day, Manti Te’o went on to help Notre Dame to its best season in more than a decade.
The only problem: His girlfriend of three years wasn’t real.
It turns out in early December Te’o learned the entire relationship was a hoax — that the love of his life — Lennay Kekua — was nothing more than a “catfish.”
The term comes from a documentary-turned-MTV show that help couples involved in online relationships meet in person to see if they really are who they say they are.
Edward Krakhmalnikov says he met a girl in an online forum for people to get over a relationship. They were never romantically linked, but have stayed in touch for three years.
“I know a person that I’m pretty sure is real that I’ve never met,” he said.
Stephanie Kluver, a professional matchmaker, says that’s why all their clients meet for the first time in person.
“Real relationships need to be in person,” she said. “You need to meet in person instead of hiding behind a computer or text messages or Twitter or Facebook.
View KMSP-TV segment here

If you don’t have a husband or wife at home, you should be celebrating this week. The third full week of September has been dedicated to Americans who are unmarried and single. Whether you’ve never been married, are divorced, or widowed this week is all about you.

The goal of ‘Unmarried Singles Americans Week’ is to celebrate and recognize solo Americans. New census figures shows unmarried Americans are a big part of the population, and those who work with singles locally say more and more are unattached by choice.

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When specialty dating service It’s Just Lunch asked 5000 singles, “When you are on a first date, what thought is going through your head?” they received an unexpected result: Not only did men and women have different top answers, but the first choice given by 47% of men, “Could we have a relationship together?”

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The good news for doctors who expect to work weekends and get paged at 3 a.m. at some point in the near future is that life does get easier, says Parrott. Translation: You’ll have more opportunities to meet someone and go on dates, even if you’re no longer treated to med-school mixers. Melissa Brown, president of national dating service It’s Just Lunch, which counts a growing number of doctors in its client base, suggests committing to at least a few hours a week for dating whether you’re just starting your residency or are an established doctor.

Liam pairs up with Diablo Magazine to find the best date spots in the bay area and then we’ll sit down with Bay Area locals to hear their dating stories plus get a bit of professional advice from San Francisco’s “Its Just Lunch” dating experts on how to find a date and keep them happy!

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It’s Just Lunch, a dating service for busy professionals, surveyed 3,968 singles nationwide about how much they spend on dates. It found that 51% of men in the U.S. spend more than $100 a month on dates, and 29% spend more than $150. In bigger cities, those figures are higher. For example, 82% of men in Los Angeles spend more than $150 a month on dates.
Women, on the other hand, spend significantly less. About two-thirds of women spend less than $50 a month. Perhaps it’s a sign that the Southern gentleman is still around, but 75% of women in the South spend less than $50 a month on dates.

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PJ Osgood of It’s Just Lunch was in the no-chat camp until recently when she met a guy from a flight between Houston and Chicago and they decided to share a cab into the city.
“We had this great conversation and we exchanged business cards and the next day we went out to dinner,” Osgood says.
A love connection was not to be (no chemistry, she says), but he was worth meeting, and this got Osgood, a frequent traveler, thinking she’s been missing opportunities aloft.

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Can you really meet your future mate at a Halloween party? Forty-six percent (46%) of those polled think you can, and in fact that this is a great place to meet singles. Forty-seven percent (47%), however, say they would never show up solo to a Halloween costume party – not even in disguise. Men are more likely to attend solo; 57% say it’s the best place to meet single women, while 50% of women say they would never show up solo to a Halloween costume party.

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Frequent fliers who live out of suitcases and eat alone in hotel bars complain often that their solitary, transient lifestyle makes it harder to date, let alone nurture a relationship. But experts agree that the consultant’s carpe diem approach is ideal for finding love in the air.
“There are two types of people: the ones who take advantage of every opportunity to meet somebody and others who go on automatic pilot as soon as they board,” says P.J. Osgood, a franchise owner with It’s Just Lunch, which sets up drink dates for busy professionals worldwide.

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Oh come on – you’ve noticed those cute guys on the airplane. (Although why does it seem they never get seated next to you – and you get stuck with the grandma from Iowa City?) But when you do have the opportunity to chat up a cutie, don’t waste it! The ladies at It’s Just Lunch Chicago shared these tips with us for breaking the ice in the sky. But you don’t just have to be traveling on business, right? What’s more pleasurable than a little mile-high flirtation?

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