A Florida woman who was catfished is now dating the South Florida man whose picture was stolen and used by scammers, according to multiple news outlets.
Last year, Nicole Hayden, of Palm Beach County, received a direct message on Instagram from a man calling himself “Marcus,” according to a report by WKMG.
The two began chatting but things took a turn after a few weeks when Marcus sent messages like: “I love you, I want to marry you,” the report showed.
After requesting to meet her parents for Thanksgiving, Hayden blocked him. However, back when they were still talking, Hayden had sent Marcus a picture of herself at the beach. The man posing as Marcus then found Hayden on WhatsApp and sent her a photoshopped version of the picture featuring Hayden nude and demanding she give him $6,500 or he would send it to her family, WKMG reported. She refused to pay up, and luckily the pictures were never released.
Soon after, Hayden found the same picture of Marcus on Instagram again, but this time the name associated with it was Alex the Officer, aka Alessandro Cinquini, a veteran officer with Carnival Cruise Line, WKMG reported. Hayden messaged and FaceTimed him, and has been dating the Miami man since January, WKMG reported.