Nothing screams suspicious like someone faking their death, disappearing from social media, and resurfacing years later. That's what Rebecca did to CJ on Catfish, and even though CJ knew something was up, he couldn't help but get sucked back in by her mystery when she "came back to life." Still, it wasn't long before another red flag emerged. Eight years after falling into her Facebook trap for the first time at 17 years old, CJ finally called Nev Schulman for help.
He told Nev and his co-host of the week, Justin Combs, that a girl named Shana appeared in his friend suggestions on Facebook. He found her attractive, so he added and messaged her. Things quickly escalated after that, and the two started a relationship. They talked on the phone for hours and shared "I love yous," but Shana never wanted to video chat. And every time they tried to meet up (she lived in Syracuse, the same city as CJ), she would make an excuse not to show.
That's when CJ got a message from Destiny, Shana's "friend" who told him Shana had passed away. He was heartbroken. Soon after, both the Destiny and Shana profiles disappeared. Two years passed and CJ moved on with his life — until a familiar face popped up at the bottom of his Facebook feed. It was Shana, and he was flabbergasted, but also happy to see her. He sent her a message, and oddly enough, things pretty much picked up where they left off.
Nev and Justin could smell the catfish from miles away, but they still joined CJ in Syracuse to investigate. When they did, they happened upon a few guys who seemed to also be close to Shana. After talking to them, they learned that CJ wasn't alone in being a victim of Shana's games. Not only was she lying to and standing up other guys, she was stalking them. She would arrange a time and place to meet and show up. Then, she would find them and text them their every move and what they were wearing. But she would never introduce herself.
She took that stalking to the next level when, after she discovered Nev and his crew were in town, she found their hotel and sat in the lobby waiting for them to leave. She sent CJ a picture of Nev exiting the building and wrote, "Just met Nev. Still can't believe you did this."
To be clear, she didn't meet Nev. She stalked him, and he even said he was getting weird vibes from a woman holding up her phone in the lobby. Despite the creepy introduction, she hesitantly agreed to meet them in a park. That's where CJ and the crew officially met Rebecca.
She told them that she had made the Shana profile in attempt to catch her ex cheating, and then ended up talking to CJ, and eventually many others. But she promised that she cared most about her relationship with CJ. Still, that didn't discount some of the shady things she did.
On top of faking her death, she created the Destiny profile and a GoFundMe page to support Shana's illegitimate daughter's cancer. She was also 30 years old when she began talking to CJ, who she knew was only 17.
Despite being completely blindsided and betrayed, CJ was surprisingly understanding and told Rebecca they could be friends. He was clear that he didn't want anything romantic with her, though. Two months later when Catfish checked in, he said they only kept in touch for about a week after filming. He was able to get back in touch with an ex with whom things hadn't worked out because of his relationship with Shana. And according to CJ's Facebook page, he's now dating someone. But it's unclear whether or not it's the same girl he mentioned at the end of the episode.
Now that CJ has the closure he needed to move on from the Shana-Rebecca situation, he seems to be happy. He has a girlfriend, is sharing some sweet #ootd photos, and has had a boost in confidence. "I started loving myself more and not giving a f*ck what a hater say and I'm happy with myself now," he posted to Facebook on June 20.
Although the ending of his Catfish episode could've been better, it looks like it all happened for a reason. Although Rebecca didn't have to stretch it out for eight long years, in a way, her deceit helped CJ find himself.
