'Who TF Did I Marry': How Reesa Teesa's viral story on ex-husband turned into online fame
If you thought the 50-part "Who TF Did I Marry?!?" video series was more than enough for now internet-famous TiKToker Reesa Teesa to share her twisting and turning tale about ex-husband "Legion", you'd be wrong.
Anyone who has logged onto social media in the last two weeks has likely found it next to impossible to avoid seeing post after post about a now super-viral saga that was originally posted to TikTok before building up steam on other platforms.
The series has garnered millions of views and an almost cult following, thanks to Teesa's vivid retelling of the Lifetime movie-esque marriage she says she entered into with an alleged scam artist during the pandemic.
The person in question is her now ex-husband, whom she nicknamed "Legion," and soon the stories of his apparent prolific lying turned him into one of the most hated online characters of 2024. Thanks to intense public interest, a whirlwind of new information has continued to trickle in since the original posting, including a response from a man who claims to be the infamous "Legion" himself.
Trying to keep up with all the updates? We've got them here.
'Who TF Did I Marry?!?' original series
The woman, identified on her TikTok account @reesamteesa as Reesa Teesa, began posting videos to what turned out to be a 52-part series on Feb. 14 and uploaded the final video in the "Who TF Did I Marry?!?" playlist three days later on Feb. 17.
The videos tell, in detail, the story of Teesa's marriage to a man she called "Legion," who she alleges was a "narcissist" and "pathological liar," though she acknowledges he was never formally diagnosed as being either.
Through the series, which amassed millions of views per each roughly ten-minute clip, she recounts the entire story of her five-month marriage, which was allegedly full of Shyamalan-style twists and turns thanks to her now ex-husband who, according to her, was a master serial scammer.
She later did a roughly two-hour TikTok live stream talking about the story as well and uploaded 20 clips of a recording from that event. Since posting her story, her account has blown up to 3.4 million followers and 34.4 million likes across all of her content.
USA TODAY had reached out to Teesa for comment but have not yet heard back.
Reesa Teesa gets recognition from major brands like Delta, Hilton
Better things are coming Teesa's way as a result of her sharing her story, at least according to her updates.
In her original story, Teesa mentioned broken promises "Legion" made to bring her to destinations she's dreamed of visiting her entire life, including London and Paris. These did not come to fruition during the relationship, but Teesa shared hope with her followers when wrapping up her story that someday, she would make it to these destinations on her own.
Since then, she has updated her TikTok fans with the happy news that her long-desired trips would soon be happening, thanks to the overwhelming response from the video. The official accounts of Hilton Hotels and Delta Airlines also commented on her posts, offering her accommodations and travel to make her dream vacation come true.
The comments on Teesa's videos are also full of quips and offers from other well-recognized brands like Five Below, Smashbox, Tinder, Dicks Sporting Goods, Microsoft, Adidas and Marriott.
Response from ex-husband 'Legion', TMZ claims he is looking to seek legal action
A man by the name of Jerome McCoy has since taken to social media, claiming to be the real "Legion" and making several posts accusing Reesa Teesa of lying about the whole thing.
Before coming forward on his own, social media sleuths had already found and shared what they believed to be the identity of "Legion", despite Teesa's efforts to conceal his information in her original series. Through social media posts and marriage records, invested viewers initially identified McCoy's Facebook page and other accounts, believing him to be the infamous man in question.
An account claiming to be run by McCoy called @jerome.mccoy713 on TikTok, then posted a slurry of videos, ranging from supposed screenshots of his bank accounts to simple speaking clips refuting what he says are false claims made by his ex.
Social media users have pointed out the seemingly inauthentic nature of documents posted by the account and have responded overwhelmingly negatively to McCoy's posts. Some posts were more sporadic and referenced different topics, leading commentators to speculate about McCoy and unproven rumors.
TMZ also claimed that he spoke with them, saying he was looking into taking legal action against his ex.
Other people claiming to know "Legion" also took to social media, including at least one ex-wife and ex-stepchild. These posters claimed their experiences with "Legion" were similar to Teesa's and they were subjected to the same type of lies, scams and mistreatment Teesa alleged.
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'Who TF Did I Marry': Did Reesa Teesa make money on TikTok from her viral story?
Teesa's videos amassed millions of views per clip, which could translate to decent monetary returns if the videos are monetized. According to posts by Teesa, the videos in her series are enrolled in TikTok's Creativity Program Beta, the system TikTok uses to "reward" creators for views.
At one point, according to Teesa, some of her videos were removed from the program but were later restored, according to posts shared on her account.
TikTok does not publicly share how views convert to dollars and actual earnings can vary widely based on factors from location and engagement rate to niche and audience. According to a TikTok earnings calculator created by social media insights agency Influencer Marketing Hub, Teesa's account has the potential to earn approximately $4,000-$7,000 per post.
However, reports from creators also indicate the actual pay could be significantly less than this rough estimate.
She has also begun selling merch in partnership with TikToker Designs by Allicia, who sells items on her Etsy shop "The5thwick." The shop features a handful of T-shirts with popular phrases from the viral series, including "proof of funds" and "all printer, no facts," both references to Legion's financial lies described in the TikToks. There is also a T-shirt simply saying "I survived Legion," which will run you $30.
Teesa did not clarify what percentage of the proceeds go directly to her. TikTok did not respond to USA TODAY's request for more information on the Creativity Program.