About eight or nine months ago, TikToker Christy (@christyisable71) met a guy on an online dating site. They talked for a little while, but their communication eventually dwindled.
A few weeks ago, he reached back out to her, and they started talking again. They never video chatted, but they have spoken on the phone and sent pictures to each other.
Recently, they decided to go out to dinner. She arrived a few minutes early. He was running a little behind and texted to let her know he would be late. She was just sitting and waiting for him when a man suddenly approached her. At first, she didn’t recognize him.
When it dawned on her that this man was her date, she realized that she had been catfished. It was the first time she had ever been deceived in this way.
“He was using a walker and carrying an oxygen tank,” said Christy. “He was about 75 pounds lighter than he was in his pictures that were supposed to be recent and seemed pretty frail.”
As he sat down, he revealed that he had cancer and was going through treatment. He had kept this information from her because he had been afraid that she wouldn’t want to meet him for dinner if he told her.
Christy empathized with him because she was a cancer survivor herself, but she wasn’t about to let this lie slide.
She told him that she was not going to stay for dinner with him, but it wasn’t because he had cancer. It was due to the fact that he had manipulated her to get her to have dinner with him.
He had misrepresented himself and withheld major details about his life. She wished him well and exited the restaurant.
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“When someone purposely keeps important information and sends out dated pictures, that is a huge red flag,” Christy wrote in the caption of her video.
The story sparked a lively debate in the comments section. Many TikTok users sympathized with both sides while agreeing that honesty is important.
“I lost my husband of 33 years to stage four colon cancer. While I feel sorry for that man, this is not a time to be trying to date. You weren’t wrong,” commented one user.
“You did everything right. He needed to be honest up front and let you decide. That was definitely manipulation,” wrote another.
“That is fair, but I probably would have had dinner with the guy, wished him well, and then let him know I did not appreciate the manipulation. Doing what is best for you is always best,” chimed in a third.
“I would have had dinner with him and maintained a friendship with him,” stated someone else.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
