TikTok star Reesa Teesa opens up on marriage gone awry in 'GMA' exclusive
The internet sensation known as Reesa Teesa, of the now-viral "Who TF Did I Marry" TikTok series, sat down with "Good Morning America" co-anchor Robin Roberts for an exclusive interview detailing her story of marriage to a man she alleges lied about nearly every detail of his life.
Reesa Teesa released a series of 50 "episodes" on social media last month, slowly unfolding her story of alleged deception and the internet quickly took an interest.
"I'm going to tell the story of how I met, dated, and married and divorced a real pathological liar," Reesa Teesa prefaced one episode.
To date, the viral story has garnered tens of millions of views on TikTok, as she pores over details of her marriage gone awry.
She said that although nervous, she was committed to sharing her experience.
"Ultimately I decided, 'If you're going to tell this story, tell the whole story,'" she told "GMA," adding, "I also really, truly believe the story will help somebody."
In the series, which spans eight hours of run-time, Reesa Teesa refers to her ex-husband as Legion.
The pair initially met online dating on two different sites and immediately hit it off, she told Roberts.
"The person I met was very-- was funny, was personable," she explained. "This was a guy who I really, after having multiple conversations with, felt like, 'Wow, you know, 'Where have you been?'"
After the coronavirus forced a statewide shutdown just two weeks after the pair met, she says they decided to move in together to Reesa Teesa's Atlanta home.
According to Reesa Teesa, Legion quickly began paying for bills, using money he claimed was from his former career as a professional arena football player.
When Roberts asked Reesa Teesa if she was financially motivated to stay in the relationship, she conceded it was not her primary motivation, but it was a help.
"He was paying all the bills, and he was being, as he called, 'a provider,' and I had never in my life experienced that before," she said.
Reesa Teesa told "GMA" that in retrospect, his financial situation was not adding up. Several promises he made, including purchasing a luxury car, a trip to London, and a home, all fell through. She claims she saw Legion make an offer on a home, but believes he didn’t have the money to make the purchase.
"So my mind was kinda saying, 'OK, something isn't right. But you know what you saw," she said.
Reesa Teesa said she continuously overlooked these red flags for three reasons which she laid out in an episode of her series: she didn't want to be alone, she didn't want to be associated with the optics of a quick-ending relationship and she was ready to get married.
Reesa Teesa said that, after getting pregnant, a miscarriage binded her closer with her then-partner.
"That is where I say the relationship should have ended," she said. "Instead, the miscarriage almost pushed me to hold onto him even more."
Legion's web of lies began to unravel after the marriage was official, she said.
"I got married Jan. 5, 2021, and by Jan. 31, I knew I was in serious trouble," she said.
"The question isn't what all did he lie about. The question definitely became, 'Okay, what is actually true? What can you prove?'" she said.
Reesa Teesa said she discovered he had a criminal record with documents revealing Legion pled guilty in 2017 to charges of impersonating a police officer and had an open warrant for violating probation.
Legion declined to comment when contacted by ABC News.
However, Legion responded to the claims made by Reese Teesa via an interview with a YouTube channel, Simply Wavy, posted on March 2.
Legion, refuted the accusations made against him by his ex-wife. Among the topics he discussed were defending himself against the idea he had financial woes, claiming that their relationship ended because Reesa Teesa allegedly had an affair and maintaining that the story about their relationship was only posted because he is in another relationship. He has also said he is considering pursuing legal action against Ressa Teesa.
"Every 'I love you' was a lie. Every 'I got you' was a lie," she said. "That does something to you mentally."
Reesa Teesa said the detail that hurts her the most in retrospect is when Legion allegedly impersonated as his own executive assistant, pretended to be busy, and avoided being by his partner's side as she lost their child.
"There was never an executive assistant. You were never in a meeting. You just simply did not take me to the hospital when I lost our child," she said.
After six months of marriage, the couple filed for divorce. She said she misses the person she was before their relationship.
"I don't really get excited anymore … I am terrified to get excited because I went through a whole year and some change of getting excited only for it to be stripped away," she said. "I do still believe in love. I do still believe in marriage. I … do still want that."
Though recording the series was cathartic, she says therapy has been key.
"It is still very much a journey of healing, self-reflection and simply, loving myself way more than to put myself through that, or anything even like that, ever again," she said.
