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Millions of people have spent the last week refreshing one TikTok user’s page hoping to learn the answer to her now viral question: “Who TF did I marry?”
Reesa Teesa, who requested NBC News not use her full name for safety reasons, captivated viewers with her 50-part, eight-hour series about her ex-husband, whom she describes as a “pathological liar,” “narcissist” and “the United Nations of red flags.”
In a tale Reesa Teesa compared to a Lifetime movie, she details the intricate alleged lies her ex, whom she refers to as “Legion,” told her. Her first video, posted on Feb. 13, was made as a stitched video in response to a TikTok trend that asked people what the most “f—– up thing that your ex did to you.” She shared a condensed version of her story, including details of family members, documents and personal information that he had purportedly fabricated.
Viewers commented that they wanted to hear more — so Reesa Teesa continued to post. The whole series has amassed over 197 million views on TikTok alone, with nearly every video getting over 1 million views. Reesa Teesa, who as of Thursday has 2.3 million followers on TikTok, also put her videos in an auto-playing playlist so that people can listen to the whole story in full — making it easy for people to watch it as if it were a reality TV show.
The Atlanta-based creator said the reaction to her series — some of which has gotten “completely out of hand,” she said — has been mostly positive.
“I already knew this story was not going to always make me look good at all,” she told NBC News in a phone interview, the first time she’s spoken to the press since her series went viral. “But I also felt like the story was bigger than me in a way. In other words, it was worth some embarrassment. But it was cathartic and it was also very emotional, and very hard at times.”
Reesa Teesa’s ex-husband did not respond to a request for comment.
In the series, Reesa Teesa goes into detail about how she met “Legion” right before the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. During their early dates, she said he told her that he was divorced but was looking to settle down, which she also wanted. When the lockdown hit, she said they decided to quarantine together in her townhouse.
But that’s when Reesa Teesa said things took a turn — in her videos, she accuses “Legion” of lying about several topics.
Her videos have become the latest long-form story told on social media that has resonated with people online. Among the notable past examples: a 2015 viral Twitter thread about a former Hooters waitress’ trip to Florida, which later was adapted into the A24 movie “Zola.”
Reesa Teesa said she made the series because she hopes it will help other people who have gone through or are going through similar experiences.
“Whether you agree with me and my decisions or not, I wanted it to create conversation about the things that we ignore because we want what we want or we’re in a hurry,” she said.
It’s been an ongoing process to heal after the relationship, she said, and it’s hard for her to trust other people. While she said she made “dumb decisions,” she is clearly “not dumb anymore.”
“I’ve started giving myself grace as I’m reading messages from other women who’ve gone through the same thing,” she said. “Because for the longest time after the story was released, it did feel like I was the only one who fell for this.”
Reesa Teesa said she wasn’t prepared for the amount of attention her story has gotten, adding that she’s received “overwhelming support” from viewers.
“If you decide to start this series, I just ask that you finish it,” said Reesa Teesa. Otherwise, she said, “a lot of questions won’t be answered.”
However, she said the attention around the series started to get out of her control while she was in the middle of making it after curiosity around the true identity of “Legion” grew among some viewers.
One TikTok user tried to “expose” him, which Reesa Teesa said she was not given a heads-up about.
The online sleuthing of “Legion” prompted some safety concerns, Reesa Teesa said. It also created a “domino effect” on other people, including some who are associated with him that Reesa Teesa said are now being exposed to unexpected attention.
Online, some have also started to speculate how much Reesa Teesa might make from TikTok’s creativity fund. She said she doesn’t know the actual amount yet, but that the number likely isn’t as high as some people think — one person estimated her income as $300,000 — because she was only accepted into the TikTok program after part 40 of her series.
With the popularity of her series, she said people have already asked streaming platforms to develop her story for film or television. One social media user even shared their “dream cast” for an adaptation.
But once she puts the TikTok series behind her, Reesa Teesa hopes to pivot her page to something that she loves: travel. Many of her followers have already shared their support for her much-needed vacation, and several brands have offered to help with her travel expenses.
She said she’s finally planning a trip to London — where she had once thought “Legion” would take her.
