I first became obsessed with the show Catfish after seeing the very first episode, randomly, in college. I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know any of Nev's background — don't worry, I later watched his documentary over and over — I didn't know people were so sneaky online. So when the first Catfish episode introduced Sunny to Chelsea — not Jamison, the man she was talking to online — I was floored. I had a million questions for both of them, and I still do! But now I'm wondering what the first participants of MTV's Catfish are up to now, two and a half years after their episode aired.
Because it's been a while, let's review the insanity that was the first ever episode. Nev and Max met Sunny, a girl who had fallen in love with Jamison (RJ King) on Facebook. Jamison was (this is my favorite part) a full-time model, a writer for Chelsea Lately, and (AND) an online anesthesiology student. I kid you not, he was supposedly learning how to be an anesthesiologist ONLINE. Kind of a red flag.
Poor, Sunny. She was truly, truly shocked when Jamison turned out to be Chelsea, a teenage girl. Turns out, Chelsea was bullied in high school so she made the Jamison profile to get revenge on mean girls, and things got out of hand and she started this online relationship with Sunny. It ended with Sunny and Chelsea making amends and reporting to Nev and Max in the Skype update that they still talk once in a while. Alls well that ends well, I guess?
But since that show aired, a lot has changed for Sunny, Chelsea, and even RJ King, the model who was used as the face of Jamison. Here's what they're up to.
Sunny Had A Run-In With The Law
In 2013, Sunny had a run-in with the police. TMZ reported that she was arrested for suspicion of driving while intoxicated. Sunny later told TMZ that she would dispute the charge, claiming that she blew exactly the legal limit on her breathalyzer test and failed her sobriety test because "she was wearing Christian Louboutins and 'nobody could walk a straight line in those shoes.'"
Sunny tweeted the day after her arrest that she had an "epic fail" and was getting a pedicure after spending the night in "good ole' jail." Those tweets have since been deleted, but can be seen on The Huffington Post.
Otherwise, Sunny has been keeping a low profile on social media, which is a big change. Her Twitter and Instagram accounts are private. But her bio says she is a "medical device rep" on Instagram, so hopefully that means she's doing well.
Chelsea Has Been Making A Difference
Even though I think Chelsea obviously shouldn't have Catfish-ed someone, I did feel for her when she started opening up about her past history with bullying. She's been taking steps in the right direction and has actually started focusing her efforts on something that will help others who are being bullied. According to Chelsea's social media, she founded the organization/anti-bullying campaign "Win From Within," which is part of a larger scale campaign by Gatorade.
It does seem like Chelsea has a sense of humor about theCatfish situation... which I guess is good? I suppose we're past the "too soon" time frame that we can laugh about her posting pictures of RJ King — her Jamison alter — on Twitter.
RJ Has Been Modeling
For funsies, let's look at what RJ has been up to. He has not been writing cue cards for the now off-air Chelsea Lately (may it RIP). He has not been taking online anesthesiology classes (I still don't get that). But he has been modeling! He was clearly a little freaked out by the entire idea that someone was pretending to be him online, but it seems that's all in the past and he's moved on with a really cute dog.
Images: MTV; Giphy
