On the ninth episode of MTV’s Catfish, we meet Jamey who recently moved from Michigan to Texas. He joined the online dating site Plenty of Fish with high hopes because that’s where his mother found her husband. While Jamey’s mom might have been lucky, there are a plenty of fish on that site — as in catfishes. Jamey quickly got a response from a girl named Ari who also lives in Texas but the two haven’t been able to meet up. While they haven’t met in person, Jamey feels like he can talk with Ari for hours on the phone.
Things seem pretty normal until Ari tells Jamey that she think it would be best if the two met in person — on Catfish. If that doesn’t sound like the sketchiest thing in the world, I don’t know what is. This girl is basically telling Jamey that she only wants to meet him if it benefits her by being on TV. What a joke!
During the video chat with Nev and Max, Jamey reveals that the two have only been talking for five months. However things moved pretty quickly from texting to Skype calls between the two. Usually a main issue people have with a catfish is that they haven’t been able to video chat with the person. It’s weird that Jamey has seen already seen Ari, but it’s obvious she’s hiding something. Jamey tells the guys that while he has seen Ari, it’s always a major close-up of her face on the screen and nothing else. She’s got me confused as to what she could be hiding if she’s allowing her face to be that close to the camera, but nothing else.
Nev and Max head out to Houston to start their investigation on this interesting Catfish case. The guys look through all of the information Jamey gives them on Ari and find out that she hasn’t lied about anything. It’s a relief to hear that she’s not lying, but it’s also frightening because they know she’s hiding something that she wants to reveal on the show. I’m not sure why the guys don’t just have the couple meet up, since it was Ari’s idea to be on TV and I doubt she’d say no. A little more digging on Ari’s Facebook and they find a post about in-laws. There’s a photo of Ari and another guy who might be her husband but his information is blocked. Nev gets a call the next day from one of Ari’s friends, Sophia. He messaged her the previous night asking if she would be able to give some more information on Ari. Sophia tells Nev that Ari has done her hair and makeup before and that she knows about Caz, the guy in the photos. But Sophia doesn’t want to answer whether or not Ari is married and immediately hangs up on Nev. Not only is that rude, but that sends more red flags around this secret Ari is hiding from Jamey.
In order to get everything sorted out, Nev goes ahead and calls Ari to set up a meeting. She tells Nev that she’s nervous to meet Jamey because there is the potential for them to have a relationship. I don’t understand this girl at all. One minute she’s telling Jamey the only way they can meet is on Catfish and now that he’s made that happen, she’s coy about it?She’s more nervous about telling him her secret because she never thought Jamey would get MTV involved. Well girly, he got them involved and now you have to come forward.
Instead of jumping for joy, Ari hangs up on Nev, saying this was all a big mistake. Nev tries calling her back and she agrees to meet Nev and Max before meeting Jamey. I guess it’s a start.
Nev and Max pull up to a park to meet with Ari and nothing seems to be out of the ordinary. She looks like the girl in the photos, but they already knew that. Ari begins explaining that she didn’t intend to pursue Jamey because most men don’t gravitate towards people like her. She wanted Jamey to be a friend and get to know her first because she had a huge secret that she was afraid to tell. Finally, the big secret — Ari is a transgender. She shares her story by saying how everyone in her family knew at a very young age, she was different than most kids. Ari’s mother held up a wrestler toy and a Barbie doll for Ari to decide which one she wanted. Ari chose the Barbie which confirmed that she might grow up a little different than the rest of the boys. Ari told her ex-boyfriend Caz about her being a transgender right away but has kept the truth from Jamey. She feels that she needs Nev and Max’s support in this journey to tell Jamey the truth, but she knows that she loves him. Let’s hope Jamey doesn’t break her heart on national television.
The guys go back to Jamey to let him in on Ari’s secret. He’s beyond shocked and doesn’t seem to know how to take the news. Ari wants Jamey to meet with her, but he lets the guys know he’ll need some time to think things over before he agrees to it. Jamey heads out to meet with Ari the next day and you could feel how nerve-racking it was for Ari. She apologizes to Jamey and lets him know that her feelings are still there and very real. Jamey tries to talk with Ari in private to make things less awkward, but that doesn’t seem to work. Jamey asks questions regarding Ari being transgender and she starts to get emotional. She tells Jamey that she doesn’t want to talk about it, even though Jamey tells her he’s there to talk to her about anything, with nothing but support. Not wanting to talk with Jamey any longer, Ari gets up and quickly leaves.
Two months later Jamey and Ari continue to talk, but not as much as they used to. They have kept their relationship as just friends since Jamey has moved on from online dating to exploring the Houston nightlife. Ari had a tough time with the breakup, but she’s getting stronger and stronger each day.
What were your thoughts on episode ninth of Catfish? Did you think Ari was trying to get her fifteen seconds of fame at first? The usual criticism behind this show is that everyone makes up ridiculous fake stories so that they can get on television. Not only did I think that was a red flag but I also thought she was trying to gain some fame by being on the show. Did you predict Ari’s secret? How would you react if you were in Jamey’s shoes? Ari was so brave to reveal her secret on national television the way she did. Not only did she have to tell the truth to someone she loved but also to millions of strangers watching. I give Ari so much credit for what she did. Even though their relationship didn’t work out I also applaud Jamey for sticking by Ari’s side as a great supportive friend. I hope for nothing but the best for these two. Leave your thoughts below.
New episodes of Catfish premiere Wednesday nights at 10/9CT on MTV.
Photos: MTV
