--- title: The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating description: Romantic betrayal has always been awful. But as Reesa Teesa’s story showed, the internet raises the stakes even higher. canonical: https://time.com/6696787/romantic-betrayal-internet-devastating-essay/ author: Myisha Battle article:opinion: true article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-03-08T15:17:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:58:20.735Z article:section: Ideas og:title: The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating og:description: Romantic betrayal has always been awful. But as Reesa Teesa’s story showed, the internet raises the stakes even higher. og:url: https://time.com/6696787/romantic-betrayal-internet-devastating-essay/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0867162ae834199/698a4932cabb1dfd88e52c1d/RealLove-Romantic-Betrayal.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1748 og:image:height: 983 og:image:alt: Real Love, Romantic Betrayal og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating twitter:description: Romantic betrayal has always been awful. But as Reesa Teesa’s story showed, the internet raises the stakes even higher. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb0867162ae834199/698a4932cabb1dfd88e52c1d/RealLove-Romantic-Betrayal.png?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. Mar 8, 2024 3:17 PM UTC  Illustration by TIME by [Myisha Battle](https://time.com/author/myisha-battle/) ## Myisha Battle Battle is a certified clinical sexologist and sex and dating coach, educator, and speaker. Mar 8, 2024 3:17 PM UTC The viral series [“Who TF Did I Marry?”](https://time.com/6837080/reesa-teesa-who-tf-did-i-marry-tiktok-update/) set the internet on fire recently when TikTok user Tareasa “Reesa Teesa” Johnson revealed what happened when she married a man who turned out to be nothing like what he presented himself to be. The [50-part series](https://www.tiktok.com/discover/reesa-teesa-who-the-f-did-i-marry-all-parts-in-order) details the lies her ex-husband, who she calls “Legion,” told her over the course of their year and a half pandemic relationship. Johnson and Legion met online, and she recalled matching with him on Facebook Dating and Hinge. Each of his profiles had a different name, which was perhaps the very first lie in their relationship. What Johnson shares is at times staggering, but she was able to confirm that not only was she duped, she was also one of a string of Legion’s victims. And with so many ways to create an entirely fabricated persona online and perpetuate the lie throughout a relationship, it’s clear we’ve entered a new era of romantic betrayal with even higher emotional stakes. **_Read More:_**[_Reesa Teesa Is a Born Storyteller_](https://time.com/6883150/reesa-teesa-interview-tiktok-who-tf-did-i-marry/) Online dating has long been a place of cautionary tales when it comes to romantic betrayal and scams. There are so many [personal stories](https://www.reddit.com/r/CatfishingTales/) and [documentaries](https://time.com/6160306/con-artist-books/) sharing how people gave false information on dating sites to lure in unsuspecting, hopeful targets. I’ve worked with clients who have experienced scamming and fraud through dating apps, and it's shocking to hear what they went through. These experiences have unfortunately become a new normal, with [dating apps scrambling](https://www.wired.com/story/dating-apps-tools-to-thwart-scams/) to identify and remove fake accounts, improve account blocking features, and add user verification procedures. But perhaps more pressing, these types of elaborate scams can have long-lasting effects on not just someone’s financial wellness, but also their mental health. Anyone who has suffered romantic betrayal knows how painful and life-altering it can be. In the aftermath of their love saga, Johnson reflected on the “United Nations of red flags” Legion showed along the way. She blames herself for not paying closer attention, but she’s not alone. We’re all vulnerable when we start getting to know someone. Many people [ignore or minimize](https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/between-the-sheets/202109/why-people-ignore-red-flags-trouble-in-their-relationships) questionable behaviors in the beginning of relationships that may come to haunt them later on. People are more likely to overlook annoying habits, ignore story inconsistencies, or not ask enough questions to maintain positive perceptions of prospective partners. What makes this new type of romantic betrayal so devastating is that after opening yourself up on dating apps, when you finally meet someone you think you can trust with your heart (who doesn’t ghost you or seem to care about superficial things), your world is upended by their deception—which makes you question both your relationships—and yourself. Romantic betrayal has grown so much since online communication became the norm in dating, and everything from [online affairs](https://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/03/internet) to [romantic scams](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/data-visualizations/data-spotlight/2022/02/reports-romance-scams-hit-record-highs-2021) have been on the rise. Research on the [psychological effects](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949791423000441#:~:text=Generally%2C%20literature%20on%20the%20emotional,2022%2C%20Whitty%2C%202018%29.) of certain types of digital romantic scams show that the effects of this type of betrayal range from embarrassment and shame to stress and suicidal ideation. Johnson has [admitted](https://www.tiktok.com/@reesamteesa/video/7335237700506619179) that she experienced severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) because of the systematic and persistent lies that Legion told. And the intensity and consistency of those lies was aided by Legion’s use of technology. It would have been hard to obscure the fact that Legion was never really talking to his brother every morning, had they only had a landline, for instance. It would have also been difficult to convince Johnson of his alleged financial wealth without falsified bank documents and images stolen from the internet. And it would be near impossible for him to engage in multiple illicit affairs with other women at the same time without his smartphone allowing him to spin his lies over multiple dating sites. Taken together, all of this adds up to betrayal on a scale unparalleled in the past. It would make sense that the emotional impact of this on victims would be larger as well, leaving people unable to trust online dating or people in general. One piece of advice Johnson offers to hopeful daters is “trust, but verify.” That means going into dating with an open mind and heart, while not letting things slide. If you’re dating someone who seems too good to be true, it may be hard to come down to earth and think that they might not be as good as they present themselves to be. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, do a reverse Google image search, or some social media sleuthing to help verify someone. It’s worth it to do some interrogation now rather than getting into a relationship with someone who doesn’t have your best interests in mind. In this age of digital dating, there are so many ways to mislead someone, which means there's an increased risk of running into people who are taking advantage of technologies that were meant to connect us. It’s important that the technologies we use catch up and build more secure environments for people to find love. But until they do, it’s good to remember that this doesn’t mean you can’t trust anyone. It means that daters have to be more realistic when assessing their matches and more proactive in making sure that the person they’re falling for is real. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6696787/romantic-betrayal-internet-devastating-essay/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6696787/romantic-betrayal-internet-devastating-essay/"},"headline":"The Internet Made Romantic Betrayal Even More Devastating","datePublished":"2024-03-08T15:17:41.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:58:20.735Z","description":"Romantic betrayal has always been awful. 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