(Sports Network) - In an interview with Dr. Phil McGraw that will air Thursday, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo says he fell deeply in love with star Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o.
Speaking publicly for the first time, Tuiasosopo said the voice of Te'o's girlfriend Lennay Kekua was his and that the linebacker had no role in the hoax.
"Here we have a young man that fell deeply, romantically in love," McGraw told NBC's Matt Taibbi during a segment on NBC's "Today" show. "I asked him straight up, 'Was this a romantic relationship with you?' And he says yes. I said, 'Are you then therefore gay?' And he said, 'When you put it that way, yes.' And then he caught himself and said, 'I am confused.'"
Te'o spoke with Katie Couric last week and admitted that he was made aware of the hoax in a phone call on Dec. 6. He decided to wait to discuss the situation until after the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 7 out of embarrassment.
Te'o put rumors to rest that he was trying to cover up a homosexual relationship. In her TV interview with Te'o, Couric asked him if he was gay.
"No, far from it," he said. "Faaaaarrrr from it."
McGraw told NBC that he believed Te'o "absolutely, unequivocally" wasn't involved in the hoax.
The first of McGraw's two-part interview with Tuiasosopo will air Thursday on the "Dr Phil Show."
