SEVEN Utah women confront catfish on Dr Phil episode

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The victims confronted the woman, Kayla, on an episode of Dr Phil
None of the women had met impostor despite regular texts and conversation
Kayla said she is gay and Mormon, but thought she 'couldn't have both', and used catfishing to 'figure out' who she was, which she said was wrong
It emerged Kayla was a catfish when one of her victims became suspicious and looked further into who she was talking with

Published: 13:30 EST, 26 April 2015 | Updated: 08:48 EST, 27 April 2015

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Seven female students, some of whom attend Brigham Young University in Utah, were catfished by the same 24-year-old woman who was pretending to be a man.

The victims all believed they were involved in a relationship with a Mormon man living in the same state - only to find out they were being duped by a woman named Kayla in Texas.

And the women had a chance to confront the woman, named Kayla, on an episode of Dr Phil that aired on Friday.

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Seven women who were all believed to be in an online relationship with the same man found out that they had been catfished by a 24-year-old woman in Texas named Kayla

Kayla apologized to the women, saying she was trying to figure out who she was because it's 'difficult' to be both gay and Mormon

'Can I ask what triggered this in the first place and why you've done it for so long?' one of the women asked.

Kayla responded by saying she tried to figure out her life in the 'wrong way'.

'It's for the simple fact that being gay and being Mormon is hard,' Kayla said. 'Your church tells you, "We love you, but we don't love who you are".'

In the episode she apologizes to the women, most of whom forgive her and say they would have been her friend in other circumstances.

'I'm sorry that I dragged you guys into my mess. Whether you believe me or not, that's up to you,' she said to the women.

The women has spoken to the women for various amounts of time, ranging from a month to more than a year.

Preview: Seven women confront online catfish they all shared

Kayla had taken the identity of a man named Keagan, who goes to school in Montana. He apologized to the women who all had been talking to a Kayla, who used Keagan's pictures online

The women's faces all looked disappointed and shocked when Kayla first walked through the door, revealing herself as the person they had all been talking to

The women mostly wanted to know why Kayla decided to pretend to be a man and why she had spoken to some of the women for longer than others

Kayla had stolen the identity of a Montana student named Keagan, who the women had a chance to meet on the Dr Phil segment.

He had no idea his identity had been stolen and apologized to the women for what had happened to them.

One victim said that the man she thought she was talking to told her he loved her, while another said he became 'her perfect guy' and that it 'almost seemed too good to be true'.

It emerged that Kayla was a catfish - someone who tricks others online by setting up fake profiles with fake pictures and names- after one of the women became suspicious and looked into the man she had been talking to.

Kayla told Dr Phil that she 'didn't have any evil intentions' and that she was just trying to figure herself out.

'I created an online persona so I could figure out who I was, and figure out if I was gay or not and figure out if I wanted to be part of the religion or not.' Kayla, who now says she is gay, said.

She added: 'Do I want to be part of the church, or do I want to be gay? And unfortunately, I saw myself in a position where I couldn't have both... You don't understand how difficult that is.'

Victim Hilary Hayes said she had been texted out of the blue by someone calling himself 'Hunter Anderson' who claimed to have seen her at a party and that he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The women appeared uncomfortable at times during the interview and some even rolled their eyes at what Kayla was saying. Most of the women, however, agreed to forgive Kayla for what she did

She told Fox13 that they would regularly text and talk and he even sent her flowers on Valentine's Day - but that Anderson would never agree to meet up.

At the same time, another victim, Sara Vanwagenen, believed she was in a relationship with a man called 'Hyrum Young'. She too reported that the person they were in contact with would never agree to meet up.

The pair eventually realised the texts they were receiving were from the same number and it turned out they had both been duped by a woman called Kayla, from Texas.

Vanwagenen is reported as saying: 'I let this person into my life in a really big way. I was really angry and really hurt.'

Hayes added: 'She just knew everything about me it was just really hurtful to find out that you literally didn't know anything about this person, not even something so foundational as their name.'

New York Daily News reports that police were informed but that no action was taken because the woman was living in a different state.

Eight Utah women fall victim to same catfishing hoax