NEW : Te ' o has said he believed Kekua , whom he thought was his girlfriend despite never meeting her face to face , had died of leukemia on September 12 after a car accident left her hospitalized . Publicist says Manti Te ' o was simply trying to learn truth after learning of hoax . Katie Couric says Te ' o 's phone bill shows long phone calls to Kekua 's alleged number . Te ' o insists during interview that his `` feelings , the pain , the sorrow -- that was all real '' and he did not know who made up the story about him. He 's a kid . ''
NEW : Publicist says Manti Te ' o was simply trying to learn truth after learning of hoax . Katie Couric says Te ' o 's phone bill shows long phone calls to Kekua 's alleged number . Te ' o insists during interview that his `` feelings , the pain , the sorrow -- that was all real '' and he did not know who made up the story about him. He 's a kid . ''