There are tons of stories about people pretending to be someone else online, but what about the real people who's photographs are being stolen? It happened to Guy Benson, but he found out in the most unconventional of ways. When his pictures pulled him into an unexpected love triangle, his world turned upside down...
Guy Benson
Guy Benson got tons of messages on every social media outlet over the course of his career. Due to his job as a longtime successful journalist and political commentator, this kind of audience feedback was expected and occurred consistently. So when one girl sent him a message online, he thought it was another person offering their opinions. He might have missed it entirely, but this was bigger than just him...
Alyson's Story
The message was from a woman he'd never met before named Alyson. She had a story he needed to hear. A few years prior, Alyson was working a full-time job when she met a man named Dylan. She was instantly smitten, but he saw them as friends. For several years, the two became BFFs, but Alyson wanted more. Dylan became part of her family in every way but one, so her friend came up with a plan...
No Moves Made
“Dylan and I have always been friends, and he wasn't making a move," complained Alyson in a radio interview. She knew she had to do something to let him know that she wanted more. "I liked Dylan, and everybody knew I liked Dylan. Dylan knew I liked Dylan." It was her cousin who eventually came up with a foolproof way to show Dylan that Alyson had feelings for him. It all started with a web search...
Making a Plan
Alyson had always been close to her cousins, enough that she considered them to be her closest friends. One of her cousins, Michael, came up with an idea that would show her as a prize to be won by Dylan, but she refused at first. "I was dead against this," said Alyson in an interview, "I told Michael I was not going along with this, we are not going to do this." Of course, Michael was pretty persuasive...
A New Guy
Jealousy was the name of the game. Michael said he wanted to create a fake online boyfriend for Alyson, hoping Dylan would realize his true feelings once there was another man in her life. "Dylan was my best friend," said Alyson. "He would think I'm crazy if he knew I went along with this." She had to admit, there was some merit to the idea—but if it blew up in her face, it would be incredibly humiliating...
Creating a Boyfriend
They decided that the time had come. They were going to make Alyson a fake, jealousy-inducing boyfriend. First, they needed the guy. They googled "generic white man" and found him—someone just cute enough to be convincing. "I just went along with it, and we just kind of ran with it," said Alyson. After creating a detailed and lengthy backstory, the random man became her new BF, Ryan Stevens.
Spread the Word
The next step? Spreading info down the pipeline. Everyone had to know about Ryan Stevens. Only Alyson and Michael knew the truth. "We came up with the whole story and it spread around to my family," said Alyson, but no one knew that he was entirely made up. They decided not to tell Dylan, knowing that their family would spread the news to him themselves. Sure enough, it was her cousin Mark who let the news slip to Dylan...
Totally Unaware
Mark had no way to comprehend the impact this conversation would have. "So when I was talking to Mark at the gym, I didn't really know much, I mean, I knew my friendship with Alyson inevitably would end in either one way—she was going to find someone and we weren't going to be able to be this close of friends forever, or we were going to end up together," said Dylan. Would Ryan Stevens be the man standing in the way of his dreams?
Making a Move
Dylan knew his clock was ticking. "I was like, 'OK, well, maybe Alyson's time has come and [our friendship] was going to fade out,'" Dylan recalled, but then things took a turn that no one could have anticipated. "I saw the picture [of Ryan Stevens] and all hell broke loose. I made my move. I couldn't control myself anymore." He realized that while he always saw Alyson as a friend, it was time to go for her heart...
Not Thinking
Michael's plan had worked perfectly, Dylan wasn't just jealous, he was ready to make a change. He recalled in an interview the day he made his move. "The weekend where it did occur to me like 'yeah, I do have strong feelings for Alyson,' I didn't even ask her out, I just kissed her," he said. Alyson told him she dumped Ryan Stevens, and the two longtime lovebirds could be together at last. Or so they thought...
Remember Ryan?
Apparently, one day while they were hanging out, Dylan asked his girlfriend about her past relationship with Ryan Stevens. "I brought up like yeah, I don't really know what it was or how many times you saw him, but Mark mentioned you were seeing someone in the spring," he recalled. Alyson was embarrassed, but she didn't want to go into this relationship with anything hidden from Dylan. She told him the whole truth...
Unlikely Love Story
Alyson was terrified of his reaction, but Dylan wasn't mad at all. In fact, he laughed! He agreed that it was probably the quickest way to get his attention and make a move, so Michael's plan had worked perfectly. It brought them closer together to knowing the whole truth, so in July of 2019, Dylan proposed to Alyson in their church. It seemed like Ryan Stevens would be a thing of the past, but some old flames spark up again...
A Pandemic Romance
Everything was fine until the coronavirus pandemic caused people all over the world to put their plans on hold, including Dylan and Alyson's wedding. They were stressed and scared beyond belief, so they turned to the internet to relieve some of their tension. They made videos about planning a wedding during a pandemic, and soon a few news outlets wanted to interview them for their intriguing love story...
News Travels Fast
Michael, the cousin with a plan, was waiting to watch one of their news appearances when his jaw dropped. The reason why was because there, on the Fox News screen, was Ryan Stevens, only his name was Guy Benson! As it turned out, they had made a backstory for Ryan without bothering to look into Guy, a well-known political journalist and news commentator. He scrolled through his photos to find one important picture...
The Original Picture
After spending some time scrolling, Michael found the picture he remembered. It was Guy, holding a rose and smirking into a mirror. Michael was shocked and amazed. Before he even told Alyson, he wanted to reach out to Benson and tell him the incredible true story of how one selfie brought a couple together. He signed off the message asking if Guy would be able to help him out with one final scheme...
Video Conference
Michael understood if the journalist wanted no part in the idea, but if he was up for it, Michael asked Benson to record a congratulations video as Ryan Stevens. While someone else might be bored or annoyed by the concept, Guy thought it was hilarious. He was eager to help out any way he could. A little while later, Michael invited everyone in the family (including Dylan) over for a special surprise video viewing...
Alyson Strikes Back
The whole family laughed at the insane course of events. He said he thought it was flattering that he was considered handsome enough to be Alyson's fake boyfriend, and even chastised Dylan for stealing her away from him. Everyone got a huge kick out of it, but Alyson had a prank of her own brewing. Though she had all the parts in place, this plan would also need some help from Ryan Stevens...
Michael's Payback
Alyson wanted to get revenge on Michael for tricking her. She reached out to Guy, who was once again on board. "She had good-natured revenge in mind, wanting to pay Michael back. She invited me to the wedding as a surprise guest," wrote Guy on Twitter, "I made 100 percent sure that the bride actually wanted this before trying to make it work." Once she confirmed it all, the scheme was set in place...
Covert Operation
Guy flew up to Boston to be the surprise guest at the wedding he unknowingly facilitated. It was a little tough to figure out how to appear on his TV show from a distance, but he made it work. "There were a few logistical obstacles to overcome in order to fulfill my various work duties, to make this happen in a safe way, and to maintain the element of surprise." Absolutely no one could know about the twist...
The Gift of Surprise
The wedding was underway, and three people were filled with nerves: Dylan, Alyson, and most of all, Guy! "On the wedding day, I was already in Boston when Michael messaged me a photo of the groomsman gift," recalled Benson on Twitter, accompanied by the picture of the mug. "I played it off as if I'd forgotten the wedding was happening that day. I thanked him for the reminder to wish the couple well on my show."
Picture Day
Benson hid in a room for a little until he got the signal to come out. Once they started taking pictures, he would make his move. "When the big moment arrived, a bridesmaid brought me down to the lake where the photos were being taken. They had assembled the whole group that had been present for the 'Ryan Stevens' video reveal," he said. It was going to be two surprises at once for a lot of people, especially Mike!
A Surprise Guest
"She said, 'Wait, we're missing someone!'" Benson recalled on his Twitter thread. "The family looked around, confused. Wasn't everyone accounted for?" It was then that Ryan Stevens, better known as Guy Benson, made his real-life appearance as the catfish come to life. He left his hiding spot and joined the wedding party who was looking around for the mystery missing person...
Shocked Stares
Here he was, the Fox Newsman himself! There was a collective gasp from the family members, none of whom had any idea he was waiting in the wings. He went all out on the presentation, writing, "I was, in fact, wearing the exact same shirt from the 9-year-old headshot that triggered the series of events leading to [that] day." People were stunned, but the shocking moments had only just begun...
Part of the Family
After the commotion died down, Guy asked "Where should I stand?" He figured that if he was going to be a part of starting this little family, he should at least get to be in one wedding picture! He later posted the video of him showing up to surprise the family to his Twitter page, where thousands of people saw his incredible entrance and the surprised faces of an entire unwitting family...
A Perfect Day
When the day was done, Benson took to the internet to tell the people following his journey about the day. "The wedding was lovely," he posted. "Everyone was so welcoming and kind." Alyson's little trick went over well with everyone attending the small pandemic wedding, but she still had a couple more ideas to really stir things up and make this a wedding that no one would ever forget...
Mr. Ryan Stevens
Other guests outside of the family learned all about the story and thought it was hilarious. He became a huge hit with other partygoers as he regaled them with his weird family connection and the full story of how he knew the bride and groom. He was happy to have been incorporated into the celebrations. He even had a "Mr. Ryan Stevens" place card at the dining table. This couple went the whole nine yards...
The Wedding Speech
The family really liked having their inside joke as a wedding guest. He even got a shoutout in the speech. "Dylan was a great sport about everything," Benson wrote on his Twitter speech. "I even got a shout-out in the matron of honor's speech (I pretended to wipe away tears and jokingly shook my fist at Dylan)." However, there was still one thing that Benson wanted from the couple...
Podcast Professionals
Guy wanted to know if he could get them to appear on his podcast. These kinds of viral stories would be a huge hit with his audience, plus it was such an insane story that he wanted everyone to hear it. They were happy to help him out with the story and guested on his show, The Guy Benson Show. Listeners loved the tale! He had another request, but it seemed like a bit of a reach. Nevertheless, the couple wanted to hear him out...
Name Game
His final request was related to the distant future. He said that if the couple were to ever had a son, he asked them to consider the name "Guy". If they didn't like that one, he also pitched "Ryan" or maybe even "Steven". He also gifted the couple a care package in partnership with alcoholic beverage company The Long Drink. With their honeymoon cruise canceled due to COVID-19, it was a nice way to make a staycation possible...
Wedding Bells
It turns out, the couple had another thing in common with Benson...a wedding song! When Dylan was dancing with his mother to Rascal Flatts' song "My Wish", Guy felt himself getting emotional. It had been the same song he danced to with his own mother at his wedding. His special day had been a few years prior when he married his longtime partner, Adam Wise.
Emotionally Moved
Everyone left that day feeling inspired by the love the two had for each other. Guy congratulated them on his podcast and again on Twitter, writing, "Congratulations to the lovely couple and their amazing friends and family. What a strong foundation they have to build off of as they begin their life together. Epic and unforgettable." Sadly, not all catfishing stories end with a happy couple like this one...
Catfishing Numbers
Not everyone finds love online. In fact, it can be a huge risk. According to a study done by the FBI in 2018, over 18,000 people were victims of catfishing, also referred to as romance fraud. It's also believed that the number is likely much higher, but many people keep their experiences under wraps due to feelings of humiliation. It can even cost you a pretty penny to fall in love online...
Financial Loss
Catfishing doesn't only hurt your heart, but also your wallet. The same FBI study found that the losses of those reported in 2018 exceeded $362 million. It is estimated to be about 70% higher than it was in 2017, according to the organization. It's become so commonplace, there's even a TV show dedicated to it...
MTV's Catfish
In 2012, MTV launched a television series dedicated to helping people find out if their online love is the real deal or another catfish. Hosts Nev and Max use online tracking, image search, and phone records to find out if the person matches the profile. Of the couples on the show, only about 11% of them end the episode still interested in a romantic relationship. Beware, if you think you've found the one on the web, you might not be so lucky...