In an exclusive interview with ABC's Katie Couric, Manti Te'o says that even though he was hoaxed by the supposed existence of a girlfriend, his inspirational story of playing through emotional pain was all 'real'.

In his first television interview, the star Notre Dame Linebacker admitted he briefly lied to the press and the public when he discovered his online love interest, "Lennay Kekua", was a fake.

Te'o insisted he was not part of the scam, the college All-American said he never met Kekua in person, but developed a serious relationship with her through phone calls and text messages over several years.

Te'o's father defended his son during the interview saying people are free to speculate about what happened but Te'o is telling the truth.