Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax: Story of Notre Dame player girlfriend death revealed as hoax

A Notre Dame football player is making national headlines Wednesday after a report came out that the story of his deceased girlfriend is a hoax.

According to a story on Deadspin.com, linebacker Manti Te’o played the latest season after claiming to have faced two major tragedies: the death of his grandmother and then the death of his girlfriend.

The article published Wednesday said there are records of his grandmother’s death, but they couldn’t find any records on his girlfriend, Lennay Kekua.

Not only is she not dead… it appears she doesn’t even exist, Deadspin reported.

In September, Te’o allegedly learned the news of both his grandmother and girlfriend dying in a span of six hours.

He then went on to win a game against Michigan State, which many saw as "heartbreaking and inspirational."

Te'o and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish eventually completed a successful season that took them to the BCS National Championship, where they lost to the Alabama Crimson Tide 42-14.

Through all of it, Te'o was seen in several interviews since September, talking about how he lost "the love of his life".

There are now reports that Te'o had never actually met Kekua in person and only maintained an online relationship with her.

Notre Dame later issued a statement, which said Te'o was a victim of someone playing a really bad trick on him.

The school said the "proper authorities" are investigating.

There are claims that a close friend of Te'o, named Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, was behind the hoax.

Many turned to social media after the Deadspin report came out, saying the whole thing is confusing and strange.

Read more on Deadspin.com.