TikTok creator @stephaniematto revealed in a video on the platform that she once had a strange dating experience with a celebrity. The encounter happened after she moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting. At the time of publication, the video had garnered 2.7 million views and 4,108 comments.
Stephanie, who was 26 at the time, says she turned to exotic dancing after her acting career didn't work out. She was using Tinder when she matched with the celebrity.
"At the time, this guy was really big, like, he had a hit show on HBO. Not only did he have a hit show on HBO, but he played a character on that show that I was absolutely obsessed with," she says.
They eventually planned a date at a comedy club where the man was performing. Stephanie decided to bring along one of her friends, who, in her words, "is a little bit of a train wreck."
Stephanie and her friend had a good time during the show and nearly got kicked out because they were being so loud. After the performance, the man asked Stephanie if she wanted to get a drink at another bar, and she agreed. Her friend left after realizing she was third-wheeling.
The date seemed to go well. Stephanie says she got pretty tipsy, and the two eventually changed locations again.
"I actually, at the end of the night, invited myself over to his house, which is where I stay till 4:00 in the morning, talking to him about my ex boyfriend, who ghosted me because he had a brain tumor. But it turns out he was actually married with two kids," she says.
Stephanie says she didn't hear from him afterward, which disappointed her. Around that time, business at the club was slow, so she created a profile on a website that advertised sugar daddies.
"Literally, days after I have my profile go up on this website, I get a text message from none other than this celebrity. He confesses to me that he found my profile on the Sugar Daddy dating website. Seems so intrigued by the fact that I am on this page. And he's asking me questions like, do you like to use men for money? Do you like to take advantage of unsuspecting men?" she says.
Stephanie says she could tell he was interested in the idea, so she decided to play along. She figured that if she did, he might want to go on another date with her. However, she says the situation took a strange turn when he asked her to be mean to him in exchange for money and to demand that he send her payments through PayPal.
"So I was like, okay, like, my car payment is due. I like you, but bills gotta be paid. All the story. He sends the $300, and this thing continues for about a year," she says.
Stephanie says she began to think the man was her soulmate. They went on two more dates, both of which involved him giving her money in exchange for her being mean to him. Eventually, she asked whether he was going to make her his girlfriend.
"That's when he tells me that this thing that's going on between me and him is not special, but he's actually doing it with, like, three other girls. One of them is also his assistant that works for him," she recalls.
After learning that, Stephanie says she cut ties with him and never spoke to him again.
TikTok Viewers Speculate About the Celebrity's Identity in the Comments
Stephanie does not identify the celebrity in her video, but that did not stop viewers from speculating about who he might be.
Other users said they did not think the experience sounded particularly awful, with some joking about how they would have handled the situation themselves.
"This doesn't sound like an awful experience, this sounds like my dream dating scenario," one user commented.
"$300 you should have shook him down.. Like $2000 for car and shopping," another wrote.
"I wish I had "awful experiences" like that resulting in no commitment and someone paying my car payment," a third user said.
The Daily Dot was unable to independently verify the claims made by TikTok creator @stephaniematto, which are based solely on her personal account shared in the video.
