Catfish season 8, episode 44: Who is Lanise?

Catfish season 8, episode 4 was a can of worms and we were not ready for what this episode had in store. Who has Deonn been talking to all this time? Read on — but spoilers ahead if you have yet to watch the latest episode of Catfish. 

Season 8, episode 44, titled “Deonn and Lanise,” introduced Deonn, a man who has been dating “Lanise” online for a couple of years. Despite his many efforts, Deonn is never able to meet and has even ghosted him a few times.

Still, Deonn can’t seem to get Lanise out of his head and is determined to meet her. Nev and Kamie are happy to help, but it doesn’t take long for our favorite online detective to smell something fishy. What is Deonn hiding? Is he being truthful?

Once again, please note there are spoilers ahead if you missed or have yet to watch Catfish season 8, episode 44. Watch it first and then come back to break down the red flags and Lanise’s identity. 

Is Lanise a Catfish?

When it comes to the Catfish, it can go three ways: The person online is your typical catfish, someone the victim already knows, or the real deal.

In the case of “Deonn and Lanise,” Lanise is someone Deonn knows very, very well. How well? It’s none other than Shanice, Deonn’s fiance! Well, Shanice claims they are engaged, but they’ve been on-and-off for three years.

Early on in the episode, after learning that Deonn is a bit of a player, Kamie calls it: Lanise is an angry ex-girlfriend. Kamie wasn’t wrong, Shanice wants nothing to do with Deonn unless he changes his ways.

Instead of taking responsibility for cheating, Deonn doesn’t apologize and places all the blame on Shanice.

After the episode is over, the credits reveal that Deonn and Shanice broke up…but they got back together three weeks later and are now doing better. Deonn promises he will be faithful this time. We wish them the best!

Watch new episodes of Catfish Tuesday nights on MTV.