Te'o tells Couric: I'm 'faaaaaaar' from being gay

There were a lot of unanswered questions leading up to Manti Te'o's exclusive sit down with talk-host Katie Couric on Thursday — like whether or not the Notre Dame football star had anything to do with his phony online girlfriend or he was "catfished" — truly the victim of an elaborate hoax.

Another question circling around in the minds of conspiracy buffs was the possibility the whole deal was a sensational way for Te'o to cover up speculation that he was gay.

Couric asked the 22-year-old point blank about that possibility.

"One of the theories, many theories, Manti, making the rounds is somehow you created this whole scenario to cover up your sexual orientation," Couric said.  "Are you gay?"

"No. Far from it.  Faaaaaaaaar from it," said a smiling Te'o.

During the interview, Te'o went on to vehemently deny having any involvement in creating the virtual social media co-ed, Lennay Kekua.

Te'o claimed his biggest regrets were lying to his parents about once meeting Kekua and briefly perpetuating the charade that Kekua actually existed even after he found out she didn't on Dec. 6.

Kekua's phone messages were reportedly made by hoax mastermind, Ronaiah Tuiasosopo, who disguised his voice as the fake hottie.

"It didn't sound like a man. It sounded like a woman," Te'o told Couric. "But if he somehow made that voice, that's incredible."

Te'o tells Katie Couric he briefly lied about girlfriend

Manti Te'o opened up and told Katie Couric that he briefly lied about his online girlfriend after discovering she didn't exist, while maintaining that he had no part in creating the bizarre hoax.

After Couric pressed the Notre Dame linebacker to admit he was in on the deception, Te'o said he believed that his girlfriend Lennay Kekua had died of cancer and didn't lie about it until December.

Te'o revealed this information in a taped interview to air Thursday on Couric's syndicated talk show, "Katie."  A segment of the interview with Te'o and his parents, Brian and Ottilia, was broadcast on "Good Morning America."

"You stuck to the script. And you knew that something was amiss, Manti," said Couric.

Te'o replied:

"Katie, put yourself in my situation.  I, my whole world told me that she died on Sept. 12.  Everybody knew that.  This girl, who I committed myself to, died on Sept. 12.

"Now I get a phone call on Dec. 6, saying that she's alive and then I'm going to be put on national TV two days later.  And to ask me about the same question. You know, what would you do?"

The Heisman Trophy runner-up said he only learned of the hoax when he received a phone call on Dec. 6 from a woman saying she was Kekua, but on Dec. 8 he again publicly mentioned his girlfriend. The remark came as Te'o was a finalist for the Heisman — the award given to the best college football player in the country.

Te'o continued being in the spotlight until he played in the BCS Championship Game against Alabama on January 7 without mentioning the scam until this taping.