What MTV's Catfish Stars Are Doing Now

Some of the most disturbing things that happened on reality shows happened on "Catfish: The Show." Perhaps it's among the many insane MTV shows you forgot about, but "Catfish," a television adaptation of a harrowing documentary film from 2010, proved to have an almost infinitely repeatable premise, and it's been running regularly on MTV, the channel that has long stopped playing music videos, since 2012. Every episode of "Catfish: The Show" is riveting television — host Nev Schulman, a victim of internet-based identity fraud himself, helps people find the real people behind the kind, beautiful strangers they've found themselves in intimate relationships with despite having interacted only through the digital means. 

"Catfish: The Show" has elevated many people to a certain level of fame and keen public interest, whether it's the dutifully serving hosting and investigative panel or some of the more egregious offenders and hurt victims that stand out from the show's huge volume of episodes. Here's a look at what happened next for the celebrities of MTV's "Catfish: The Show," from the hosts to the participants. 

The first brush with fame for Nev Schulman came via the 2010 documentary "Catfish." Co-directed by his brother, Ariel, the movie showed what happened when Schulman was victimized by and then investigated an act of "catfishing": He'd enjoyed an online relationship with a woman who used various tools and tactics of internet trickery to pose as an almost completely made-up person. When MTV turned "Catfish" into "Catfish: The TV Show," Schulman was brought on to lead the investigations into dozens of other, similar incidents of internet-enabled fraud. For more than 12 years, Schulman has starred on and produced "Catfish," an engrossing job that doesn't leave much time for other professional pursuits. During the run of the show, he's turned in a couple of cameos as himself in media, including "Nobody's Fool" and "Robot Chicken," and helped produce the projects "Minor Premise" and "Long December."

In July 2017, Schulman married producer and writer Laura Perlongo, nine months after the birth of their first child, a daughter named Cleo, and they've since welcomed two sons. Part of the tragedy of "Catfish" host Nev Schulman was his involvement in a violent bicycle accident. In August 2024, while on his way to retrieve one of his sons from school, Schulman was struck by a truck and ejected from the bike, resulting in a broken neck.

Accompanying main host Nev Schulman on his country-spanning trips to unite the lovelorn with the person lying to them about their online identity, Max Joseph cohosted the first seven seasons of "Catfish: The TV Show." Serving as a question-raising, joke-making camera operator and counterpart to the more objective and empathetic Schulman, Joseph participated in over 100 episodes of "Catfish" before he departed for good in 2022, after a final special appearance in the eight season.

"Catfish: The TV Show" made Joseph one of the most famous documentarians in the world and one of the few to ever be nominated for a Teen Choice Award, but the reason he left the show was that he wanted to get back to filmmaking. Prior to starring on "Catfish: The TV Show," which he helped create and adapt for television, Joseph variously directed, edited, and shot numerous entries in the documentary short series "Good," including the installments "Water," "The Green Hotel," "Coal," "Education," and "Immigration." 

After the success of "Catfish," Joseph made more documentary shorts as well as feature films. He directed the 2013 electronic music piece "12 Years of DFA: Too Old to Be New, Too New to Be Classic," and co-wrote and directed the 2015 electronic music-based narrative film (and box office bomb) "We Are Your Friends." In recent years, Joseph returned to television to helm multiple episodes of the miniseries "Happiness," and he directed and appeared in "15 Minutes of Shame," an HBO documentary about public shaming.

After Max Joseph left "Catfish: The TV Show" as a regular fixture in 2018, model Kamie Crawford became the permanent co-host of the investigative reality series. That became Crawford's first permanent gig in the entertainment industry, although she'd previously appeared on "Hell's Kitchen," "F in Fabulous," and was named Miss Maryland Teen USA and then Miss Teen USA in 2010. Crawford stayed with "Catfish" for six years and around 100 filmed episodes before announcing her plans to leave the show in 2024.

MTV capitalized on the popularity of "Catfish: The Show" and hired Crawford to host other romance-related shows for the network, including "Are You the One?" and "Ex on the Beach." She's also a paid brand ambassador for allergy medicine maker Mucinex and hosts the popular podcast "Relationsh*t," where she discusses love and relationship issues, all bolstered by her "Catfish" experiences. Crawford's first new post-"Catfish" gig found her separating truth from reality once more — working as a guest judge on Netflix's "Is It Cake?"

Following original "Catfish: The TV Show" co-host Max Joseph's exit from the series in 2018, the remainder of Season 7 saw Nev Schulman cooperate with a series of rotating guest star assistants. Accompanying Schulman on four catfishing exposure missions in 2018 and 2019, and on a special return to the show in 2023, was Tallulah Willis, a celebrity best known for her lineage. She's the daughter of actors Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, and as a child appeared briefly in some of her parents' movies, including "The Scarlet Letter" and "The Whole Ten Yards."

Her stint on "Catfish: The TV Show" was Willis's most prominent on-screen work to date, and since her work on that series she's made the rounds on the celebrity-based reality TV circuit. Willis guest-hosted "The Talk," and competed on "Celebrity Show-Off" and "Stars on Mars." She's also positioned herself as an advocate and spokesperson for two health issues that affect herself and her family. She's made appearances on several talk shows, including "The Drew Barrymore Show," to discuss father Bruce Willis's neurological conditions, including dementia. Willis also speaks up on TV about her receipt of an autism diagnosis at the age of 29.

Elle King is another celebrity in the rotation of guest co-hosts in the post-Max Joseph era of "Catfish: The TV Show." An occasional actor — mostly in her childhood — King is better known as a singer in the country-blues-rock-soul vein. She's also the daughter of "Saturday Night Live" cast member and comedian Rob Schneider, with whom King admits she has a strained relationship and doesn't speak with for years at a time. By the time she co-hosted "Catfish: The TV Show" on a temporary basis in 2019 (and again in 2023), King had recorded the certified-platinum album "Love Stuff" and scored a Top-10 hit with "Ex's and Oh's."

Along with popping up on MTV's "Catfish" series, King has continued her musical career, releasing the folky album "Shake the Spirit" and the country-oriented "Come Get Your Wife." Her 2021 Miranda Lambert collaboration "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)" reached high spots on Billboard's rock, pop, and country charts. In 2024, King made some headlines when she performed at a Grand Ole Opry tribute to Dolly Parton while describing herself as "f***ing hammered" (per Variety), forgetting lyrics and swearing profusely.

The 2013 "Catfish: The TV Show" episode "Ashley & Mike" is one of the long-running reality TV series' most unique and memorable installments, primarily because it caught both romantic parties in a mountain of lies. Over the span of a years-long online relationship, Ashley had represented herself with heavily doctored photos; Mike sent Ashley pictures of someone he deemed to be in much better physical shape than he was in reality. After "Catfish" helped the couple meet face-to-face for the first time, they broke off the romance but remained on good terms.

"Ashley & Mike" also stands out from other "Catfish" episodes in that both participants joined the list of reality TV stars who died tragically. Only about a month after his "Catfish" installment first aired on MTV, Michael Fortunato died from the effects of a pulmonary embolism. He was 26 years old. Three years later, Ashley Sawyer was found deceased in her apartment from what authorities believed to be an unintentional drug overdose. Sawyer was 23.

Going by his middle name, Robert Brian Clark starred in the 2013 "Catfish: The TV Show" episode "Jesse & Brian," which detailed the Marine's experience with post-traumatic stress syndrome. His arrest for possession of an altered firearm while he experienced an Afghanistan War flashback — all while en route to see online lover Jesse — led to a PTSD diagnosis and an inward retreat which precluded him from an in-person meet-up with the woman he loved. Clark had also failed to disclose to Jesse that he'd been married and legally separated when they first connected. Through the intervention of "Catfish," the couple met in Clark's home state of Alabama, and then immediately broke up.

Clark's life included a lot of tragedy, and it ended in it, too. In December 2016, Clark was riding his motorcycle near Bessemer, Alabama, when he poorly negotiated a railroad crossing, crashed, and was thrown from the vehicle. Clark was hit by a truck while laying on the road, and authorities pronounced him dead at the scene. The "Catfish" participant was 33 years old.

"Catfish: The TV Show" occasionally injects some celebrity into the proceedings. The 2014 episode "Tracie & Sammie" necessitated the involvement of Tracie Thoms, at the time promoting her indie movie "Raze" but best known for her roles in films like "Looper," "Rent," and "The Devil Wears Prada." Departing from the messy romantic entanglements usually featured on MTV's "Catfish," this episode concerned an uncomfortable connection between Thoms and a self-described mega-fan named Sammie, who built multiple online fake profiles and presences.

Following a positive ending rare for "Catfish: The TV Show" — Thomas absolved Sammie of her transgressions and the two worked things out with a hug — Thoms returned to her career as a prolific character actor. "Catfish" viewers may have spotted Thoms on "Veep," "The Mindy Project," "Criminal Minds," "American Gods," "Love," or "Truth Be Told." In the 2020s, she's procured long-term recurring roles on "Station 19" as Dr. Diane Lewis and on "9-1-1" as scientist Karen Wilson.

Prior to his 2015 appearance on "Catfish: The TV Show," R Prophet (real name: Ryan Prophet) was a member of the Southern alternative hip-hop group Nappy Roots, probably best known for its 2002 smash hit "Po' Folks," a song that earned the collective a Grammy Awards nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. But even mainstream success doesn't insulate a person from falling victim to an online scam, nor connecting with a person pretending to be someone they're not. Urged by his management team to start some social media accounts to interact with and attract fans, the computer-averse R Prophet met a woman who said she was a model named Trinity. They never had a video chat because the rapper couldn't figure out how to work the technology, and the romance died immediately upon the "Catfish" facilitated meeting exposing Trinity's true identity; the pair stayed friendly.

A few years after he became one of a handful of already-known people to show up on "Catfish," R Prophet re-launched his career, writing and publishing his memoir "Grams to Grammys" and serving on the board of the Muhammad Ali Center, a nonprofit organization in his home state of Kentucky.