Catfish Season 4 Special: Where Are They Now?

Even though Catfish is on hiatus during its mid-season break, Max finally got an episode all to himself for a special Catfish: Where Are They Now? show. This special was created by the mastermind Max himself to allow fans to catch up on some of their favorite Catfish members.

The first person Max goes to visit is Dani catfish-special-danifrom the Season 1 episode with Kya and Dani. A little background information on this story: Kya met Alyx online but was shocked to find out that Alyx was really a transgender male named Dani. Despite the shocking news, Kya fell in love with Dani immediately. Kya didn’t care about Dani’s gender because she already knew who the person was that she had been talking to online. While this sounds like a happily-ever-after story, after three years it seems like the love dwindled over time. Dani tells Max that people change over time and that he and Dani haven’t talked in almost three years. Dani tries to find love but most people don’t know how to deal with him being transgender. Dani suggests that if you’re unsure about what pronouns to use, just call someone by their name to be safe. While Dani might not be so lucky in the love department, he is a lot happier and less shy than three years ago when they filmed the episode. He’s also in the process of getting legal documentation to change his name and sex, which he hopes will really help out in his job search. I’m glad to see a much happier Dani and wish him nothing but the best in the future.

catfish-special-deeThis Catfish special wouldn’t be complete if Max hadn’t visited the notorious Bow Wow impersonator Dee Pimpin. Dee Pimpin is from Season 2’s episode with Keyonnah and Dee. The crazy story is that Keyonnah thought she was dating the famous Bow Wow for four months after they met online through a fan site. Turns out Dee was the one behind the fake fan site and the fake Bow Wow account. Either way, Dee is the clever one here because she was able to get Keyonnah to post her number and string her along for a while. I still can’t get over this episode and the fact that Keyonnah thought she was actually talking to Bow Wow! That fantasy is something that only happens in movies, unfortunately. Since filming, Dee Pimpin has actually met Bow Wow who was flattered by the impersonation. I never thought someone famous would meet one of their impersonators and be so down to earth with them like Bow Wow was with Dee.

Things didn’t work out between Dee and Keyonnah romantically but the two still continue to talk almost every day. And Dee has another crazy story to tell Max about what’s happened to her since the episode aired. Turns out Dee Pimpin got shot by someone one day as she was on her way home from the studio. The shooter was trying to rob Dee and in the process shot her and ran off. As crazy as that sounds, Dee has the bullet wounds to back up her story. No need to worry about Dee, though — she now has a fiancé that takes care of her daily. As for stopping her catfishing days, Dee doesn’t make any promises for the future but confirms that at the moment she’s not interested in anyone else but her fiancé. Stay out of trouble, Dee!

catfish-special-roseThen Max has a few Skype chats with some of the stars of previous episodes of Catfish to check in on them. First, he speaks with Rose from the Season 1 episode with Joe and Rose. Joe had thought he was talking to Miss Teen USA’s Kari Ann Peniche until he found out it was actually his best friend Rose. Rose mentions in the Skype chat that she and Joe don’t speak anymore and that she’s totally moved on. She now has a girlfriend who helped her get out of catfishing since Rose wanted to be truthful in this new relationship. Rose took Max’s advice from the original episode when he told her to take all the energy she’s putting into catfishing into something more productive like writing a book. Be on the lookout for Rose’s new romance/adventure book.

During all these flashbacks to earlier seasons, I can’t help but notice how much younger Nev and Max look. They look like they were in high school — it’s so weird to imagine them running a show.

catfish-special-ashleyMax’s next visit with Ashley from Season 2’s episode, Ashley and Mike, is one emotional rollercoaster. Mike and Ashley’s story is that the two had met online through a chatroom and had been talking for over seven-and-a-half years. When Mike wasn’t the guy in the photos, Ashley was really disappointed. However, Ashley thought it would be best to give Mike another shot and the two were able to connect and eventually develop a relationship without the cameras rolling. But a tragedy occurred one month after the episode aired: Mike died from pulmonary embolism at the young age of 26. Ashley tells Max that she’s glad the last thing she and Mike said to each other before he left that day was that they loved each other, and she credited Mike for helping her get through her previous substance abuse problems.

When Mike passed Ashley said she had no one to talk to and didn’t want to feel any of the pain. She turned to alcohol and meth to help her cope with the pain, but it only caused her body to give out. Ashley also nearly died and was found by the paramedics in the middle of a street with her pants off and shirt up to expose someone’s sick and twisted game of tic-tac-toe drawn on her stomach. After getting into a physical altercation at a bar, Ashley wasn’t supposed to make it out of the hospital alive. She’s now four months sober and couldn’t be happier with her life, living at a sober-living facility. Ashley wants to go back to school and mentions that she knows she deserves to be happy with someone else but she can’t help but compare every guy she meets to Mike. I know Ashley will continue her bright path of sobriety through the spirit of Mike to be her guide.

Max makes another Skype call to Kristyn from Season 2’s episode with Mike and Kristyn. Kristyn was dealing with the aftermath of a car crash that made her gain 130 pounds which ultimately led to her boyfriend leaving her. Even after all the apologizing she could do, she and Mike haven’t talked since filming ended. One good outcome from this experience is that Kristyn was able to make friends with another Catfish member, Framel. The two met at the Season 2 reunion and instantly became friends. Framel mentions that he and Anthony from his Season 2 episode still talk and are on good terms. Both Framel and Kristyn say they’ve been done with catfishing for years.

catfish-special-mhissyThe last stop is for Max to meet with the villainous Mhissy from Season 1’s episode with Jasmine and Mhissy. Mhissy was actually the “Mike” Jasmine thought she had been talking to. The reason behind Mhissy’s catfishing is that she wanted to keep Jasmine away from Josh, her boyfriend at the time. Max is very nervous about the thought of bringing Mhissy and Jasmine together since Mhissy was so feisty before, but things have definitely changed for Mhissy who is now a mother. Max notices how soft this baby has made her and think that’s a good thing. Mhissy says she doesn’t regret what happened, but it bothers her when she sees the episode on TV and sees how she could’ve been less hurtful towards Jasmine. It’s almost laughable now to think about it, because she’s not even with Josh anymore and neither is Jasmine.

Mhissy is up for Max’s challenge of bringing the two together to finally bury the hatchet. When Max calls Jasmine, she’s hesitant at first since it’s been a few years and she’s not looking for a friendship with her former tormenter, but she later realizes that it would be for the best. When they finally meet up, Jasmine says all she wants is an apology from Mhissy and that’s exactly what she gets. Mhissy sincerely apologizes to Jasmine and the two hug things out in the end. Though Jasmine originally wasn’t interested in meeting with Mhissy because she said she wasn’t looking for friendship, turns out that’s what she got because since filming the two talk every day. Who else didn’t see that coming after remembering their first encounter?

What were your thoughts on this Catfish: Where Are They Now? special? Were you happy to see some of the familiar faces or did your favorites not make the cut? I think this is a great idea to incorporate into every season since they only have season reunions. After that you’re left wondering what happened to certain people. I’m always rooting for the couples to stay together after they seem hopeful at their first encounter. Were you surprised to hear some of the relationships that lasted or ended? It’s hard to find someone who isn’t completely lying about everything so that they’ll end up successful with their true love in the end. Leave your thoughts in the comments.

New episodes of Catfish return Wednesday, July 8 at 10/9CT on MTV.

Photos: MTV