I have never spent this much time on a single TikTok page as I am doing on ReesaTeesa's page because to say her narration of her ordeal with a man named "Legion" is wild would be an understatement. In this attention economy, her storytelling skills are topnotch because how are so many of us invested in a stranger's business this much? I thought Elsa Majimbo's story with Naomi would be the biggest story on social media this February but she ReesaTeesa takes the cake.
The slow burn, consistency with every detail, and how she says, we should hold some part of the story for future reference had me in a chokehold. She remembers every stop, date, time, and road turn, the expressions with all those allegedly fake phone calls make for the ultimate drama. I have never seen such a thing in my entire life; you see this on television but they do not even go that far but that a human being could be an unrepentant consistent pathological liar had me gasping in shock over and over.
Considering how invested I was in this story, I had to write something about it. The classical story of love in a pandemic gone wrong.
A summary of ReesaTeesa's 50-part series
In March 2020, just two weeks before the shutdown, ReesaTeesa met "Legion" online and decided to go on a date. On the way to the date, she had a blowout, and he helped her with her tire and paid for everything. Despite the mishap, they hit it off well. By the time the shutdown occurred, they had decided that he would move into her 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom home because he had a studio. He covered most expenses except for her car note, insurance, and phone bill. She was pleased because she had never experienced such support from a man before.
Over time, she learned that he had five siblings, including two half-siblings he was close to. He spoke to his oldest brother every day, and although she never spoke directly to the brother, they exchanged greetings through him. He had an ex-wife, and although they had no children together, he maintained a close relationship with her kids, aged 20 and 17. They attempted to buy a house together, but the process fell through. Despite shopping for appliances and furniture, she discovered that he had lied about closing on the house and never completed any paperwork with the realtor.
In April 2020, she discovered she was pregnant, and they attempted to buy another house. This time, she got involved, and they made a cash offer of $699k, with him claiming he had been approved for $750k through Chase Bank (she saw paperwork for this). He also mentioned having separate savings and offshore accounts, but without disclosing details. However, when the sellers demanded proof of funds, a back-and-forth ensued, leading to the sellers and the realtor pulling out.
She was confused because he assured her they had the money and never lacked anything. Around the same time, she found out he was communicating with women on Facebook Messenger, causing her to doubt herself. In July 2020, she suffered a miscarriage, and he wasn't there to support her, claiming he had business meetings he couldn't miss as the VP of a condiment company. His demeanor began to change after his grandmother passed away.
By this point, she was growing tired of the relationship as nothing seemed to change, and he consistently made excuses for why they couldn't follow through on plans. He took her to test drive cars, claiming he would pay for one for her, but never did. He convinced her to buy an Audi A8, promising it would be delivered, but it never arrived, with him providing various excuses.
Despite his consistent daily routine of leaving for work at the same time and returning home at the same time, he continued to experience multiple family losses. In December 2020, he proposed, and they married the following month in January 2021. Just three days after their wedding, she discovered he had been cheating with a prostitute since November.
Marriage counseling revealed that the pastor would have advised against the marriage had she sought his counsel earlier. Additionally, the ex-wife requested financial assistance for their daughter who had passed away from Covid, which she agreed to. She bought herself a Nissan Altima, but the monthly payments were higher than expected, and when she informed him she was getting another job to cover it, he laughed at her.
During a background check for the new job, she noticed discrepancies in his social security number compared to what he had provided on their marriage license. Investigating further, she uncovered shocking truths about him, just three weeks after their wedding on January 31, 2021.
After uncovering a series of lies, she realized he had never lived in California as he claimed, but had addresses in Rhode Island, Philadelphia, and Georgia. She discovered he had been married before, and both marriages ended quickly with divorce and even an order of protection against him from his first wife. Speaking to his most recent ex-wife, she learned that he was a habitual liar, alienating even his own family.
Shockingly, she found out his claimed grandmother's death in 2020 was actually in 2008, further unraveling his deceit. Investigating further, she found discrepancies in his claimed family members and education, with the college he claimed to attend having no record of him. By May 2021, he was bedridden due to knee trouble. On his birthday in June 2021, she confronted him about his lies, leading to her decision to end the relationship and kick him out of her house.
After his aunt offered him money to leave, he departed, displaying extreme laziness by using Powerade bottles in his room as makeshift toilets. Despite feeling disgusted, she was determined to get him out and then she changed the locks and alarm code.
One of his cousins contacted her to inquire about their breakup, revealing his tendency to fabricate stories, including falsely accusing her of cheating with a police officer. It became apparent that he had severed ties with many family members due to his habitual lying, including his twin brother, who lived a successful life contrary to the fabricated persona he presented.
The woman he claimed was his aunt turned out to be an untrustworthy family friend. They swiftly divorced, although he initially hesitated to sign. He attempted to move back in under the pretense of legal advice but was unsuccessful. The supposed aunt, unaware of the miscarriage, contacted her under the false assumption that she was leaving him and he was seeking custody of their nonexistent child. His persistent lies continued even after the divorce was finalized, but she hasn't heard from him since.
Legion has been allegedly FBI-ed out on Facebook as someone allegedly named "Jerome" and he came out with a feeble attempt to say she was only bitter because of the divorce. Maybe, he can say more than that because the accusations are heavy for anyone to be unbothered.
Lessons
ReesaTeesa already admitted her vulnerability for putting this out there and I bet she is ready for every judgment coming for her. The important thing is that she learned and her putting this out there is an opportunity for women to learn and be cautious. She already termed it it "United Nations of Red Flags", which is a solid description of such an experience.
However, I would assume that she was a bit reluctant to walk out of that relationship for many reasons. One of those reasons was that he was paying the bills which allowed her to enjoy the money she was making and do other things for herself. When someone takes care of your rent and utility bills, it can be tempting to look the other way. Secondly, the sex may have been damn good early in the relationship plus he made a very good and sleek impression on the first date.
The red flags were all there and as women, we must get to the point where we compel ourselves not to ignore red flags that show up early in our dealings with anyone. Her instincts were pinching her and she said God put so many signposts which she ignored because she was in desperate need of a male companion.
That made her vulnerable and it is a good thing she survived to tell this story. It was a risky situation to be sleeping alone with someone like that under the same roof as no family member knew what was happening behind closed doors. I am glad she survived because she feared for her life and was thinking about how she would escape the trap.
Aside from being honest about your relationship issues with close friends and families who genuinely care for you, I would say the biggest lesson for me was about money and trusting your intuition when it tells you to run a background check. A woman needs to earn her own money so that she does not need to second guess or find an excuse to manage an irredeemable relationship situation when it is time to walk away.
She admitted that the signs were screaming the whole time.... from the shady proposal, the fake phone calls, the imaginary car delivery after test driving how many cars?, the questionable offshore savings (how was he having $700,000 and barely existing in a studio apartment), the unnecessary back-and-forth conflict and contradiction with the realtors, his dealings with Peaches (he probably bagged something from his encounter that worsened his leg pain), the lies about a dead daughter, his office post as a VP who could not access the building during the weekends...it goes on and on.
I am hoping this becomes a book like Tanqueray from The Humans of New York or a series like "The Tinder Swindler". This story and the plot have to be the best social media series ever and nothing on television or the movie comes this close yet to this reality. I am waiting for "Legion" to spill his side because if you are following the story, someone claiming to be the son of the other wife in the obituary is already talking and he says whatever ReesaTeesa says is the truth.