28 Wildest Catfish Episodes, Ranked

Summary

• “Whitney & Bre” revealed a surprising twist where the supposed victims were actually scheming together for a chance to meet.
• “Alfred & Adonis” featured a shocking post-reveal fight and showed how toxic relationships can lead to manipulation and deceit.
• “Lucas & Many” exposed a serial catfisher who had been manipulating multiple people, resulting in a cathartic confrontation with the victims.

The following contains mentions of murder, suicide, bullying, violence, and sexual misconduct.

The series’ premise alone means it’s built for drama, but the wildest Catfish episodes contain some twists that stand head and shoulders above the rest. Nev Schulman had no idea that his 2010 independent documentary Catfish would become a critical and commercial success, coining a term for something rarely talked about but was increasing within the general population thanks to the internet. Strangers tricking unwitting victims on the internet into emotional relationships was becoming a more common phenomenon as technology progressed. Schulman was the first to bring the problem out into the open.

Schulman’s documentary was so successful that MTV ordered a TV series with him answering requests from those seeking to find the true identity of their online lovers. Catfish is one of the highest-rated reality shows on MTV. Each installment sees Nev and his partner, who changed in successive seasons, take on one relationship at a time as they do deep dives to uncover a catfish’s identity. While these installments do occasionally reveal a truthful individual, the most shocking Catfish episodes uncovered some truly unrepentant folk, wild schemes, and a fair few outright crimes.

28 “Jen & Skylar”

Season 2, Episode 6

This episode doesn’t see the parties involved fighting in the streets, and it doesn’t see someone being catfished by the same person multiple times, which does happen in the show. The wild aspect of Jen being catfished by Skylar is in his explanation for the catfishing.

18-year-old Jen is shy and has been bullied in the past, so she finds it easier to connect with people online. She meets Skylar, supposedly a few years older than her, on a gaming site, and they hit it off. Over the course of the show’s investigation, however, it turns out that Skylar is actually a man named Bryan who has been “connecting” with multiple young women online. In his own words, he was “brushing up on his game” in the experience and didn’t have feelings for any of the young women he was catfishing.

Jen, for her part, takes everything in stride and is able to confront him about how the entire situation makes her feel. It’s not her that gets in his face and lectures him, but instead, the hosts of the show. They even tell him to never contact Jen again, something that they rarely do on the show, allowing the people that agree to participate in the program to make their own mistakes. It’s clear that they connected with Jen and wanted things to work out for her.

27 “Open Investigation”

Season 6, Episode 12

This intriguing episode actually involves someone catfishing two different celebrities, something that doesn’t happen often in the show. The hosts have to track down Shelley Chartier. She manages to catfish both model Paris Roxanne and NBA player Chris Andersen. Interestingly enough, she simply claims that she’s been trying to act as an intermediary between the two to get them together.

That. however, is only the tip of the iceberg in the episode. It’s also revealed that Chartier has actually catfished numerous people under a different alias. Her previous efforts have actually led to her being charged with impersonation, extortion, and fraud. She even spent a year in prison before she appeared on the show and explained that her life of crime was done. Every bit of information uncovered about Chartier made the episode a truly wild ride.

26 “Tiana & James”

Season 4, Episode 12

Tiana requests to be on Catfish because she wants to know if James is the real deal. The two have a great connection, and as she’s gotten to know him, her friend Aisha has been supportive. Aisha participates in the show alongside her to support her friend in case things go sideways. Neither of them were prepared for just how sideways things could go for them.

This is one of the few Catfish episodes to have a misdirect in the middle of it. The hosts actually think they’ve found an older man who has been catfishing Tiana at one point, but they aren’t wrong. Their search eventually leads them to a mechanic’s shop that just happens to be where the father of Aisha’s child works.

As it turns out James is the father of her child, and she and Tiana are completely shocked by that outcome. Aisha and Tiana’s friendship crumbled on camera as a result.

25 “Motherwolff & David”

Season 8, Episode 74

The relationship between Motherwolff and David is an interesting one by Catfish standards. That’s because many of the people who approach the show to participate have only been talking to their online partner for a year or two. These two had been talking to one another online and over the phone, off and on, for 20 years. They had never met in person though, and Motherwolff decides to ask Catfish for help.

When the show finally tracks David down, however, everyone is surprised by what they find. David is real, in a manner of speaking. David is a persona put on by Denise, and they are more than willing to continue their relationship with Motherwolff after meeting in person – in a wig and affecting a higher pitched voice to maintain the David persona. During the meeting, however, Denise also admits to performing with multiple personas and doesn’t want to reveal her true personality on the show.

The follow-up did have a positive outcome. Despite the audience finding the reveal a little strange, David and Motherwolff maintain their relationship after the events of the show. The show never reveals the intricacies of the multiple personas, but maintains David/Denise’s privacy in that regard.

24 “Mike & Caroline”

Season 2, Episode 15

When Mike reaches out to Catfish because he has been having trouble getting his online girlfriend Caroline to meet him in person, he doesn’t realize that he’s already met her before. Caroline maintains that she has severe social anxiety, so every time they’ve tried to meet up, she backs out. That doesn’t stop her from coming by his work or leaving notes on his car though, which the hosts find to be odd.

What they discover is that “Caroline” has been using photos of another woman named Caroline who lives in North Carolina, not Florida, where Mike is. The fake Caroline is actually a woman named Heather who has met Mike before – when she accidentally catfished him as a woman named Claire.

Heather initially created a dating profile online to catfish a friend’s husband because her friend suspected her husband of cheating. That was Claire, who Mike had approached in the past. When he discovered the truth, however, he let her know how much she had hurt him by lying to him, and his anger upset her so much she intentionally catfished him again under another name.

This story does have a happy ending though. When the show did a follow-up with Mike over a year later, he had actually met someone new and got married. His wife had seen his story on the show and reached out to him. It’s nice to see someone featured on the show get a happy ending.

23 “Kya & Alyx”

Season 1, Episode 6

In the first season, one of the best Catfish episodes was the sixth outing, “Kya and Alyx.” In this episode, the show proved that they weren’t just about proving people aren’t really who they seem when meeting online and destroying relationships. This was one of the wildest early episodes because it turned things on its head and showed that sometimes online love connections are real. This episode started late in the story, as Kya had already admitted to Alyx that she used a fake identity to catfish him, and she wanted to meet so they could meet each other for real.

Alyx admitted that they are transgender, which didn’t bother Kya at all.

However, this is when the catfisher became concerned that Alyx might have also been catfishing her. She went to Nev and learned that she was right. Alyx is named Dani and wasn’t using a real identity either. With that said, they met and Kya was happy anyway. Alyx admitted that they are transgender, which didn’t bother Kya at all. It all ended happily — until after the show when they broke up because they lived too far apart.

22 “Antoinette & Albert”

Season 3, Episode 3

The Catfish season 3 episode “Antoinette & Albert” is one that doesn’t stand up as well today as it did when it was first released. This is because Nev took the time to basically insult Antoinette for how she dresses, tells her dad that she brings these things on herself by her attire, and tells her that she doesn’t have to dress so scantily if she wants to find a good man. It is a terrible lesson and Nev way overstepped his boundaries here, making this a wild Catfish episode without even talking about the catfisher himself.

She wasn’t being catfished and T-Lights really was who she was talking to online.

That was a man known as “Albert” and Antoinette was so happy to be hooking up with him online because he was a Florida-based rapper known as T-Lights. This really made this an episode that bucked the trend in that aspect because she wasn’t being catfished and T-Lights really was who she was talking to online all this time. However, even after a date, they didn’t really progress much more because Antoinette didn’t want to leave her family in Texas and take the chance.

21 “Dejay, Malik & Josiah”

Season 5, Episode 13

The season 5 episode of Catfish focusing on Dejay, Malik, and Josiah was very different. This was the first love triangle to appear on the reality TV series. The first person to show up is Dejay, who is in love with Josiah. They met online seven years before, but they had never met in person or even video chatted. This raises all the red flags that Catfish fans know so well. However, this episode goes off the rails because there is a third person, who is named Malik, who is also in love with Josiah — and it’s the same catfish for both guys.

This is tough because Josiah is who helped both men come out to their families.

Nev and Max meet Dejay and get all his details. Then, they go and meet Malik, and they realize the two guys are talking to the same person. When the connection is made, Josiah refuses to talk to either and blocks them on Facebook. This is tough because Josiah is the one who helped both men come out to their families. The big twist is that Josiah is who he says he is and wasn’t using fake photos. However, he has a son and a boyfriend of two years and won’t leave him for either Dejay or Malk.

20 “Danny & Rosa”

Season 6, Episode 3

What makes the “Danny and Rosa” episode stand out from other Catfish episodes is that it features a religious-type incident — a first for the reality TV series. In this episode, Danny met Rosa on Facebook in 2014 and fell in love with her as soon as he saw her photos. It took almost a year, but she finally responded to him and the online love affair began. However, Nev learned that Rosa was actually a guy named Jose. He did this to humiliate and hurt a woman named Natalie (the woman in the photos) because she bullied him in school.

The shocking end came when Danny agreed to talk to Jose and began to counsel him before asking him if he could pray for him. What is most ironic about this episode is that the catfisher, Jose, was catfished himself later in the same season. In that case, it was a new suitor named Jay, and, ironically, it turned out his catfisher was also named Jose. In a bit of irony, Jose was distraught that the person he was falling for was catfishing him, despite him doing the same thing to someone earlier in the season.

19 “Paul & Caitea”

Season 8, Episode 32

Not only is “Paul & Caitea” one of the best Catfish episodes, but it is also one of the most disturbing. The episode starts with Paul’s fiancé, Samantha, being the one to call the show and see if they can help her. She thinks that Paul hasn’t gotten over his “first love,” which was a woman he met online years before while he was still a teenager. However, it turns out that his “first love” wasn’t who they claimed to be, and he was the victim of an online dating scam. This was only the first layer though, and the truth was much more disturbing.

Paul was a teenager at the time, but the age of consent in Michigan is 16.

The naked photos sent to Paul by “Caitea” were of a younger girl named Katy. The person catfishing Paul and sending the photos was Katy’s mother Martha, who did it without her knowledge or permission. Paul was a teenager at the time, but the age of consent in Michigan is 16, so it turns out that Martha didn’t commit any real crimes, although it was still one of the most disturbing moments of the series. Katy also revealed that Martha catfished more teenage boys and Paul was just one of her victims.

18 “Whitney & Bre”

Season 4, Episode 7

One of the wildest Catfish episodes revealed that its two subjects had schemes of their own, and neither could be considered a victim. This was one of the most devious Catfish plots audiences have seen on the show — but at least it was for the right reasons. Whitney had called in Nev and Max to help her with a woman she was infatuated with in California named Bre.

Whitney claimed Bre would never video chat and neither could afford to meet each other, a frequent hallmark of catfishing situations. It turned out, though, that they had been video chatting the entire time, and they just wanted to meet each other with Catfish’s help since they couldn’t afford a plane ticket. The reveal was just as shocking for Nev and Max as it was for audiences, both of them looking dumbfounded as Bre and Whitney admitted their plan.

17 “Alfred & Adonis”

Season 8, Episode 2

“Alfred & Adonis” contained one of the worst post-reveal fights in Catfish, and in turn, became one of the most shocking Catfish episodes. Nev and his co-host Kamie caught up with Alfred in North Carolina, who had broken off a toxic six-year relationship with his ex, Antonnio. He struck up a relationship on Facebook with a man named Adonis, who refused to video chat or call Alfred, hence Alfred calling Catfish.

Physical fights weren’t enough to keep the two away from each other, and Antonnio and Alfred subsequently got back together.

Audiences were shocked to find out that Adonis was Antonnio, and Alfred’s ex created the fake profile nearly a year before the pair had broken up. If this wasn’t indication enough that the two made a toxic couple, Antonnio and Alfred got into a knock-down drag-out fight during the reveal. However, physical fights weren’t enough to keep the two away from each other, and Antonnio and Alfred subsequently got back together.

16 “Lucas & Many”

Season 5, Episode 13

“Lucas & Many” comes from one of the highest-ranked seasons of Catfish. One of the most shocking Catfish episodes follows a former Playboy model and dancer named Jayme. She is suspicious about the man she is talking to online whom she met on Tinder, thanks to the advice of her friends. While Jayme was correct in her suspicions, Nev, Max, and Jayme were woefully ignorant of the breadth of the perpetrator’s crimes.

What is most shocking about Jayme’s story is that it is shared by several other victims. When Max and Nev investigate Jayme’s catfish, they hear from a few other women who have also been talking to him. They all soon find out he has been manipulating dozens of people online. What results is one of the most cathartic and gratifying confrontations the series has ever seen, as all the victims get to confront the catfish.

15 “Ramon & Paola”

Season 2, Episode 3

In one of the most shocking Catfish episodes, Ramon thought he had fallen in love with a woman named Paola whom he had met on Facebook. Then the catfishing type of behavior started, with strange Skype calls and her asking for money and gifts. Unfortunately, as is the story with many of these online relationships, Ramon did give her all of those things and then some.

It was later found out that the real girl — Loyda — had revealed all the personal details about herself, including her driver’s license and actual pictures of her, but he never wanted to believe it.

He later admitted he had briefly seen her face and body quickly on Skype before she hid again, and he knew she was not the same girl in the pictures she presented. However, he didn’t want to believe it. In a shocking twist, it was later found out that the real girl — Loyda — had revealed all the personal details about herself, including her driver’s license and actual pictures of her, but he never wanted to believe it. His delusion and her lack of care about the money he gave her made this quite a spectacle.

14 “Tracie & Sammie”

Season 3, Episode 5

Not all the Catfish episodes include a romantic relationship, but this one does include a celebrity. When actress Tracie Thoms (Rent) encounters an obsessive fan named Sammie, details about Sammie’s life cause her to become suspicious over time. Sammie tries to use a fake death to garner sympathy, so, Thoms contacts Nev and Max to get to the bottom of the situation, and what they find certainly doesn’t disappoint.

Sammie turns out to be a woman named Jacqueline, and what’s worse, Jacqueline has catfished countless other people and takes pride in her work. Jacqueline was wholly unrepentant for putting Thoms and others through the wringer and had a penchant for bullying people online. She was proud of all of her predatory misdeeds and refused to apologize for being calculating and cruel.

13 “Falesha & Jacqueline”

Season 4, Episode 13

“Falesha & Jacqueline” turns out to be not only one of the best episodes of Catfish but also one of the most shocking Catfish episodes. What makes this episode, much like “Tracie & Sammie,” stand out is that there isn’t a romance at the center. Rather, Falesha is the victim of something akin to identity theft. Someone has been stealing Falesha’s pictures and using them for a profile called “Jacqueline,” while spreading hate, drama, and vitriol online.

Tracey is famed as one of the creepiest catfishes in history.

As it turned out, the perpetrator, Tracey Barbie, wasn’t all that difficult to find. However, Tracey is famed as one of the creepiest catfishes in history. Her response to being outed was troubling at best. Tracey held no remorse for the damage she inflicted on Falesha’s life and reputation. She didn’t seem to truly comprehend the weight of her actions, and even Nev was stunned into silence at her response during certain moments.

12 “Candic & Titus”

Season 5, Episode 16

One of the most shocking Catfish episodes has a twist that must be seen to be believed. Candic is a 27-year-old wife and mother who is carrying on an online relationship of sorts with a man she met on a retail app she uses for work. He was interested in a handbag she was selling, and the two began talking consistently. Even though she’s already in a relationship, Candic asks Catfish for assistance in her search for Titus.

She was hoping to meet him with Nev and Max’s help — and all without telling her husband. Audiences were struck dumb when “Titus” actually revealed his identity. By the end of the episode, it is revealed that the man she had been speaking to was her husband all along, who was looking to grow closer to his wife. In the end, it did bring them closer together, albeit in a questionable way.

11 “Catfish: The Untold Stories Part 10”

Season 6 Special Episode

Audiences can’t help but feel sorry for Nev in one of the most shocking Catfish episodes. In the middle of Season 6, Catfish gave audiences a few special episodes, with two under the title “Catfish: The Untold Stories.” The unique segments told viewers about catfish who set themselves apart from the usual flock presented in the show. Part 10 of The Untold Stories stands out because of one telling segment.

Nev hired someone remotely to manage some of his personal social media accounts, but the catfisher had other plans.

Catfish is inspired by the documentary which showcases host Nev Schulman’s story of woe with an online manipulator. In this special episode, Nev becomes victim to a catfish once again. Nev hired someone remotely to manage some of his personal social media accounts, but the catfisher had other plans. The catfish posed as Nev, texting people and starting online relationships as him. It’s hard to believe the man who invented the term would fall victim to the act, but it just proves how nefarious catfishing is.

10 “Kayla & Courtney”

Season 5, Episode 10

This was another one of the few episodes in Catfish’s many seasons that had nothing to do with a romantic relationship. However, what makes it one of the most shocking Catfish episodes is that it had to do with the supernatural and whether it’s possible to talk to the dead. Kayla is a young woman with a tragic past. Her father, who had mental health issues, murdered her pregnant mom when she was only a toddler.

A couple of years later, he took his own life in prison. However, a woman named Courtney was claiming that Kayla’s father had been contacting her. Courtney stated she could speak to Kayla’s deceased father, a man Courtney had never met. She knew things about him that not many knew and all of it was hard for audiences to wrap their heads around. By the end of the episode, even Nev and Max had changed their views on the matter.

9 “Lucille & Kidd Cole”

Season 3, Episode 4

One of the most shocking Catfish episodes can’t even air anymore due to ongoing legal issues with the catfish himself. Surprisingly, a number of the wildest Catfish installments don’t have to do with romantic relationships, as the connection between Lucille and Kidd Cole was strictly a business partnership. Lucille met Kidd Cole online after discovering his music on SoundCloud and reaching out to him.

The installment is responsible for a ton of
Catfish
memes, namely Nev throwing Kidd Cole’s phone into the river

The two became friends, and after a series of cons, Lucille was out a lot of money. It was eventually revealed that he was not a famous music producer as he initially said, and his disinterest in Nev’s line of questioning led to his phone being thrown into a nearby river by Nev himself. The installment is responsible for a ton of Catfish memes, namely Nev throwing Kidd Cole’s phone into the river, and is one of the few examples of a time when the normally even-keel host lost his cool for the catfish’s lack of attention and remorse.