Seven female students , some of whom attend Brigham Young University in Utah , were catfished by the same 24-year-old woman who was pretending to be a man . The victims all believed they were involved in a relationship with a Mormon man living in the same state - only to find out they were being duped by a woman named Kayla in Texas . And the women had a chance to confront the woman , named Kayla , on an episode of Dr Phil that aired on Friday . Scroll down for videos . Seven women who were all believed to be in an online relationship with the same man found out that they had been catfished by a 24-year-old woman in Texas named Kayla . Kayla apologized to the women , saying she was trying to figure out who she was because it 's 'difficult ' to be both gay and Mormon . 'Can I ask what triggered this in the first place and why you 've done it for so long ? ' one of the women asked . Kayla responded by saying she tried to figure out her life in the 'wrong way ' . 'It 's for the simple fact that being gay and being Mormon is hard , ' Kayla said . 'Your church tells you , `` We love you , but we do n't love who you are '' . ' In the episode she apologizes to the women , most of whom forgive her and say they would have been her friend in other circumstances . ' I 'm sorry that I dragged you guys into my mess . Whether you believe me or not , that 's up to you , ' she said to the women . The women has spoken to the women for various amounts of time , ranging from a month to more than a year . Kayla had taken the identity of a man named Keagan , who goes to school in Montana . He apologized to the women who all had been talking to a Kayla , who used Keagan 's pictures online . The women 's faces all looked disappointed and shocked when Kayla first walked through the door , revealing herself as the person they had all been talking to . The women mostly wanted to know why Kayla decided to pretend to be a man and why she had spoken to some of the women for longer than others . Kayla had stolen the identity of a Montana student named Keagan , who the women had a chance to meet on the Dr Phil segment . He had no idea his identity had been stolen and apologized to the women for what had happened to them . One victim said that the man she thought she was talking to told her he loved her , while another said he became 'her perfect guy ' and that it 'almost seemed too good to be true ' . It emerged that Kayla was a catfish - someone who tricks others online by setting up fake profiles with fake pictures and names- after one of the women became suspicious and looked into the man she had been talking to . Kayla told Dr Phil that she 'did n't have any evil intentions ' and that she was just trying to figure herself out . ' I created an online persona so I could figure out who I was , and figure out if I was gay or not and figure out if I wanted to be part of the religion or not . ' Kayla , who now says she is gay , said . She added : 'Do I want to be part of the church , or do I want to be gay ? And unfortunately , I saw myself in a position where I could n't have both ... You do n't understand how difficult that is . ' Victim Hilary Hayes said she had been texted out of the blue by someone calling himself 'Hunter Anderson ' who claimed to have seen her at a party and that he was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . The women appeared uncomfortable at times during the interview and some even rolled their eyes at what Kayla was saying . Most of the women , however , agreed to forgive Kayla for what she did . She told Fox13 that they would regularly text and talk and he even sent her flowers on Valentine 's Day - but that Anderson would never agree to meet up . At the same time , another victim , Sara Vanwagenen , believed she was in a relationship with a man called 'Hyrum Young ' . She too reported that the person they were in contact with would never agree to meet up . The pair eventually realised the texts they were receiving were from the same number and it turned out they had both been duped by a woman called Kayla , from Texas . Vanwagenen is reported as saying : ' I let this person into my life in a really big way . I was really angry and really hurt . ' Hayes added : 'She just knew everything about me it was just really hurtful to find out that you literally did n't know anything about this person , not even something so foundational as their name . ' New York Daily News reports that police were informed but that no action was taken because the woman was living in a different state .
The victims confronted the woman , Kayla , on an episode of Dr Phil . None of the women had met impostor despite regular texts and conversation . Kayla said she is gay and Mormon , but thought she 'could n't have both ' , and used catfishing to 'figure out ' who she was , which she said was wrong . It emerged Kayla was a catfish when one of her victims became suspicious and looked further into who she was talking with .