Kim is a 25-year-old full-figured woman who lives in Alto, Michigan. Ten years ago she met Matt in an AOL chatroom & they’ve been BFFs ever since. Matt is also 25 now, he’s a large man and lives in Vancouver, Washington. Kim’s life is now at a crossroad as her relationship with her boyfriend, Scott, has become very serious and they’re considering taking it to the next step… marriage. But before Kim does that she needs to know if Matt is her true soul mate. Both Kim & Matt claim to love each other, they talk and text every single day. Kim claims there was an immediate connection since day 1. By the way, Scott knows all about her relationship with Matt.
Some things don’t seem quite right though, for example, when Matt requested someone to Skype with and Kim volunteered, he turned her town. Kim’s become desperate and has emailed Nev Schulman to please help her figure this out once and for all ~ she wants to meet Matt. Nev & his assistant, Max, fly to Michigan to start the process of helping Kim find out who Matt really is. The three meet at Kim’s country home & she shows them pictures of Matt, she calls him, they get more information from Kim.
Nev & Max do some research and find lots of Matt’s pictures on his Facebook; pictures he has obviously blocked Kim from seeing. They also come across some music he’s composed – both men find the music troubling, aggressive, angry & derogatory…the word “arrogant” is used to describe him. Lastly, they find a current profile for Matt on Cupid, a dating site.
They return to Kim’s house & divulge all the information they’ve discovered. Along with Kim, they’re trying to figure out what the “mystery” is. Kim seems uneasy upon listening to his music; she doesn’t like the lyrics at all and what bothers her more is that he’s looking for a “special friend” on Cupid, while he already has her.
She then shares a heart-wrenching story about her former boyfriend, Steven, who killed himself three years ago. Her pain is palpable as she tells the story of him calling her, her telling him it’s over and they hang up. Within minutes, Steven hung himself. It’s obvious & so sad that Kim blames herself. Understandably, she hasn’t gotten over Steven. Within one year she gained 125 lbs. and she says she really didn’t even live for two years; Matt was there for her the entire time. There’s undoubtedly a strong bond between Kim and Matt.
Nev goes back to the hotel & calls Matt, he explains his involvement & surprisingly, Matt agrees to meet Kim. Soon, Nev, Kim & Max are on a flight to Washington for the meeting. Once they arrive at Matt’s apt. he emerges. There are 2 things I noticed as he was walking down the stairs: 1)
- he is very overweight
- although Matt denies it, he’s extremely nervous-you can hear it in his voice.
They hug and Kim says, “You’re shaking.” Matt says, “You smell good.” In the apt. Matt explains he was nervous about meeting her because of his weight, he says at one point he weighed 619 lbs., but since has lost 65 lbs. He couldn’t really live, couldn’t sleep, shower, put on his shoes…he didn’t feel like a person. He finally said he didn’t want to meet like this (I took that to mean he wanted to lose more weight first). Both seem very nervous at first, then they kinda settle down and are more comfortable with each other.
Back in the car, Kim says she’s uncertain about her feelings, she wants to be fair to both guys. Max mentions Steven & asks if she feels the love in either of these relationships that she felt for Steven…that same feeling. Kim says, “no, there’s no comparison.” Both Nev & Max tell Kim “never settle.” You can tell she’s really struggling, yet at the same time she seems numb.
They go back to Matt’s apt. 1 last time. Kim meets his mom & sister, she & the mom have a good heart to heart talk. His mom tells her Matt was really scared to meet her & for Kim to be 100% honest with him. In the apt. Nev, Max & Matt are in a deep conversation… Matt cries as he tells the men he’s thought of killing himself but worried about who would find his body. This part is as sad, or sadder, than when Kim shared about Steven. Matt says he hit bottom and won’t ever go back “there” again. Nev is very encouraging to him, Matt says “it’s up from here.”
Now it’s time for Matt & Kim to talk alone. Matt tells her he’s in love with her, he always wants her in his life and wants a relationship with her. Kim still seems somewhat numb and honestly says she doesn’t know what she wants (she’s crying), she’s still dealing with Steven’s suicide. It’s very touching as Matt is comforting her. Then, Kim says it…at least I felt this was her moment of liberation, “Leaving here, I’m just gonna do “me”" (I almost got up in my living room and clapped for her) Matt tells her not to forget the things he’s told her, that he loves her.
Conclusion: Kim broke up with Scott; she and Matt are still best friends & they talk daily. One month later Nev is Skyping with Kim and Matt: Matt’s lost 20 more lbs. Kim is finally dealing with Steven’s death, she’s not ready for romance.
My Take: This was a very touching segment. At times I wanted to hug each of them (that’s the mom in me), the fact they randomly met online, yet both needed the other so desperately ~ as a soul mate. Kim is right, she needs to do Kim, for now. I believe her heart was so badly broken & she blames herself; a good therapist will walk her down the path to healing. Matt is a remarkable young man, and I think there are a LOT of Matt’s out there, by that I mean a lot of people who are housebound for one reason or another, and feel ashamed. The internet opens a new world for them, as it did for Matt. Something inside of him wanted more for himself & now Matt is doing Matt! I think (I certainly hope) these 2 will be BFFs, goodness knows, they both deserve a friend like the one they have been. *happy dance*
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I think she was turned off by him and I was very, very disappointed with her. Matt seemed like an awesome guy and she turns around and plays the “lets be friends” crap, cause he was overweight. You can do MUCH better Matt. Lose her.
I think Kim and Matt should be together. At first I was really disappointed in Kim for rejecting Matt because of his weight (especially since she has a weight problem herself, albeit not as serious as Matt’s) but in the end it might be for the best – the rejection could be the thing that spurs Matt to make some healthy lifestyle changes, and if he can go from being dangerously obese to just being overweight, it will make for better long-term health. Then, maybe they can be together in the future, or at least that’s my hope. I don’t buy Kim’s BS at all that she ‘needs time to heal.’
Anyway, this episode had a lot of touching scenes, and I think it was one of the better episodes of the season. And, on a side note, I love that they used Sydney Wayser’s “Dream It Up” during the scene when Nev and Max Skype with Kim for the first time as she tells them about her online romance with Matt, I though it was a great song to use as a subtle tie-in with the episode.
I didn’t believe her story at all. First the ex is a loser who leeched off of her and spent everything on drugs. She throws him out, he kills himself. At the end he was her one true love and no one could live up to him. She’s so special she needs to see her online crush before marrying her boyfriend? You’d think shed have more compassion for the guys weight issues. Nope, somehow she’s too good for either of them. Any one who buys into the myth a fat girl will be loyal and greatful should watch this episode. She is not a nice person and I don’t believe her.
i have meet like one hundred girls like that fucking fattie, i call them, meat seekers, all that drama, its fake… here are the facts… she is fat, and she is tired of being alone, she only wanted to know if she could get anything better than she had already. that sucks, she is an opportunist. at first, she was with the drug abuser for a reason… i bet that guy, had by far, better feelings than her, even tho he was a coward for killing himself. he might got into drugs because his GF’s online romance… she is quite a liar, pathetic person.