i haven’t read anyone else’s stories but i’m certain mine will be a dime a dozen. i could uncontrollably cry, for however long quite honestly, and it would be piteous. i’ve been quite lonely for a long time. i’m fairly attractive, but on the other hand a bit awkward and not well adapted to dating or romance. i finally decided this year that i would branch out and allow myself the satisfaction of a sexually intimate relationship. whether that be in person or online was unimportant to me. i posted an ad on bdsm personals and received a few messages. some who had verified! how foolish was i, to be drawn to the messages of the only person who hadn’t. they were very well spoken and i was immediately drawn to them. not for a second did i consider that maybe they were intending to catfish me. sadly, i was already excited to play with them even before they sent photos. i wonder if whoever they were would’ve been fine, to me. but we’ll never know. anyway, we talked for, thankfully, only less than two weeks. so, this hurts, but i will get over it eventually. how i discovered they were a catfish is a bit more involved. i had in fact reverse google image searched her photos but nothing came up. i was comfortable with this and since the dynamic was so fresh i was comfortable not pushing for more photos or verification. but things got pretty emotionally and sexually intense. thinking back on all the kind and sweet things they said to me, im very devastated. i genuinely felt as if i had found someone who i could relate to and cultivate something special with. not special or revolutionary, i know. regardless, i went on a walk with a friend yesterday, who was immediately wary. she knows my history of in capability to date or maintain relationships. so, i’m grateful she was looking out for me. i sent her the photos i was sent by the catfish and she dug quite a bit deeper than i had and found the photos linked to an OF account. i was pretty quick to think maybe she just had an OF and wanted to keep that from me, but my friend shut that down immediately and told me to confront the catfish. i sent a message last night, on discord. this morning, i hadn’t received a response, and when i sent another message, i had been blocked. i messaged her back on reddit because it appeared i wasn’t blocked here yet… all i really wanted to hear from them was reasoning. clarity. we had discussed me coming to visit. well, that’s my sob story. i suppose this is an excellent lesson for future me. but i am devastated. i would love to hear from others if anyone has any thoughts or similar experiences surrounding kink and being catfished. thanks for letting me share <3