I think the narrator does a great job with building suspense and cadence, but all that buildup seems to be wasted by the end. It takes an interesting turn about halfway through, and then really fizzles. Unfortunately, the narrator keeps that suspenseful tone even when there’s not much left to report, which seems insincere. All that hype for nothing.

But it can. And it did. I related to this story albeit my story would not make a wonderful podcast. Kudos to Kirat and her willingness to share her story.

Exposing the truth

Massive waste of time. “Victim of online harm?” What? 10 years. Get a grip lady. Or a brain at least.

The podcaster himself is interesting and easy to listen to. He is very talented, however this women is an idiot. It’s embarrassing to be of the same species as her. Anyone who falls for stuff like this, kind of deserves it 🤷🏼‍♀️

Anyone who has ever been in the influence of a malignant narcissist will have a deep connection to parts of this story. As soon as the “reveal” of the catfish was made, my brain immediately started spinning and relating this story to my two experiences of working directly for someone who scored highly on the “dark triad” scale. Suddenly this whole podcast made sense. And OMG. I’m so glad I’m not in those employment settings anymore.

Without victim blaming, I’d like to hear more about the psychology of how a person falls into this trap. For example, in cult stories they give context of what kinds of people are particularly vulnerable to cults. The catfisher I think just liked toying with a vulnerable person she saw as weaker, like a cat playing with its prey

So many great things about this podcast. The story, reporting, production, host and the subject Kirat Assi. I loved that by seeking justice for what happened to her by letting her story be known to millions is brave and will probably help people avoid her fate. Publicizing her story in this way will/have result in consequences for Simran, her cousin. I do think however it would also be nice if there was some time spent on self-reflection on Kirat’s part. It isn’t victim blaming, if after being burglarized, you spent time going over weakness in your home security protocols. Maybe she couldn’t have known that Bobby wasn’t real, but maybe she might have ended things when she found herself lying to her family, quitting her job all while never having an in person conversation. I also think there is room for empathy for Simran. I read that to imprison someone the jailer must also be in prison. For every hour of the ten years that Kirat lost, Simran likely spent four times that much time in setting things up, covering tracks, and just regular relationship time with Kirat: hours of conversation, phone sex, the I love yous, planning for the future. The motive is the same motive everyone else has when engaging in relationship forming behaviors, love. The world is filled with abusers who think they love their victims. But judging from the sheer time and effort Simran put into her charade, if not love, then passion was driving her.

The actual "sweet bobby" podcast series was good! That's why I'm still rating the pod as ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5. That being said, no actual content has been released in about a year. The past 7 or so "episodes" have been previews promoting entirely different podcasts. Not sure why I have continued to "follow" this podcast. Unfollowing now, unfortunately.

Kirat is the victim- no question. HOWEVER, taking some accountability for her lack of due diligence would have been refreshing. It’s a step towards empowerment and moving on because it shows you’ve learned something from the experience. the fact that she is still crying and in a deep place of sadness shows a lack of progress towards healing. with peace and love.

The story itself is very interesting and thought provoking. There are a couple of wild turns that keep you engaged. However, the last 2 episodes are almost pointless to the podcast. I kept listening hoping that more bombshells would drop to make it worthwhile…but it’s just some information that really isn’t needed and doesn’t help you feel happily resolved with the podcast. I do really like the host. He has great cadence and personality which makes him so enjoyable to listen to.

I’m astonished at how many reviewers are saying negative things about how the victim was “stupid,” as if she deserved to be mistreated for trusting that someone was sincere and honest. Even if she was “stupid and gullible” (a view I disagree with entirely) does that mean she deserved what happened to her? I’m so grateful for a podcast that handled this in a respectful and compassionate manner. More please!

This woman is a total idiot, sorry to say. How could she be so naïve and believe so many lies and fall for such tricks. She starts an online relationship with someone and doesn’t bother to do any due diligence on this person. 8 years and she never met the guy and he actually believes he is real? She sounds pitiful and I cannot understand how could anyone be so desperate for a relationship that they will not use their brain and just trust another person whom they never even met in real life.

would be interesting, but the woman is a total idiot. how stupid can you possibly be? to fall for so many tricks over and over again? her story is crap bc she’s so stupid

I definitely wouldn’t say this is “the most complex catfishing scheme in history” like the narrater suggests at the beginning cause I was quite underwhelmed. The story is interesting but the outcome is just ok. It’s really not all that crazy, I’ve (unfortunately) heard much worse stories when it comes to catfishing like on “Something was wrong”. I’d advise that Kirat listen to other stories like this to understand that this happens a lot and she’s not alone.

I gobbled this up in a day. Great podcast series!

This is a podcast about the stupidest, most gullible woman in the freaking universe. I’m out.

Omg. This was so good. My new fave.

I am sorry for the incident that this poor woman went through but in terms of a podcast I have to be honest… I only kept listening past episode 3 how this was all going to come together in terms of being interesting. I felt it ends very flat and was not worth the time given to listen to in terms of the story. Good production though!

I love this podcast. So much. I wish I could go back and listen to it again for the first time! Can’t wait to hear more on different stories.

FYI this will be a weird review. No I’m not a curmudgeon, I’m in my 20s. But if you have a dog that doesn’t like high pitched noises play this over headphones. The dings and rings in the first episode alone were enough to freak my pup out enough that he started scratching on the door wanting to get out of the house. I get the reason and intention for the sound effects. It is just obnoxious for dog owners that so many of these podcasts seem like they are just mixtapes designed to create dog anxiety. Thought about posting this admittedly bizarre review a few times over the years as I have listened to these podcasts blare unneeded sound effects that really make my animals uncomfortable. This one was bad enough in the first episode I finally had to do it. Is downvoting a thing on Apple Podcasts? If it is downvote away.

Good production. Good narration. Ok story. I’m excited to listen to their other podcasts. Kirat comes off extremely gullible to fall for such patently ludicrous and outlandish stories; the effect making her much less sympathetic- the story is what it is though. Listening to the unnaturally detailed sound of her trying to swallow a dry mouth a thousand times in my headphones was full on disgusting.

love this . great story told with compassion and intelligence . not sensationalized . highly recommend.

This happens more than we hear about. Alexi reported beautifully this crazy tale. So many twists and turns. The perpetrator should be in prison IMO. I hope Kirat finds love in person. She deserves happiness.

Yes, there was a verbal trigger warning at the top of episode 2. And no, I didn’t go into this blind. I obviously knew what the series was about before pressing play. But I made it halfway through ep 2 and had to stop listening. I can tell the story is expertly told and is no doubt really interesting. However, having survived an emotionally (& physically, spiritually, & psychologically) abusive relationship involving love bombing, desperation, and erratic and manipulative behavior.. this is really tough to listen to. 😬 Anyone who’s survived this type of controlling abuse: be warned. It likely won’t be light listening, on many levels. Just a friendly suggestion. 5 stars bc I can separate the fact that it’s a great podcast from my own personal *stuff*.

Such a great podcast. Thoroughly enjoyed the investigative reporting; well done! Heartbreaking what that woman went though.

This podcast drove me crazy!!!!! I feel for people who are manipulated and catfished. I think it can happen (on a certain level) to most people. I have been manipulated in my life for sure….but the difference is, you try and learn and take something girl the situation as well. Kierat was a victim for sure but she was absolutely gullible, naive and in an enormous amount of denial. (Spoiler) at the end she is still saying that she “was not gullible” and it’s hard to listen to someone whining for so long without taking an ounce of responsibility for this going on for almost a decade?! It’s very annoying to hear that after this whole ordeal, she had apparently learned nothing! And in fact could maybe even fall for his again….makes it hard to sympathize as much as I’d like to in the end. The podcast, however, was well made!

I stopped listening after the host used this term to describe the victim’s group of friends.

Rarely do I say to myself "that could never happen to me" because I know we live in a crazy world, where crazy things happen. BUT, I just don't think this could ever happen to me. It doesn't change how I feel about the victim in this story (and yes, I truly believe she IS a victim), but I'll be honest... it's a HARD story to wrap your head around. I hope the victim truly lives the rest of her days in peace and harmony. "Happy go lucky" as she put it. She deserves nothing but the best! As for "Bobby" - you are a sick individual and I pray you get the help you so desperately need!

One of the best podcast ever made ! Very well made !

I was both intrigued and incredibly annoyed listening to this podcast. Both kiarat and Simran need major therapy, both of them a mess, simran is diabolical and evil and won’t stop doing this, it pisses me off she just gets to move on with her life, and had the nerve to play a victim. Kiarat was willfully foolish and desperate.she allowed herself to be played by a child. Why on earth would she allow herself to go that long without seeing this person and continue to stay? It annoys me the host never talked in depth about the family dynamics afterwards did the parents just never talk to each other? Was simran accepted back into the family. Also,simran lawyers talked about a family dispute that happened a decade ago why wasn’t that ever talked about???? That was very clearly the motive, but how did it involve Kiarat,why was she the only one targeted? How badly was simran hurt by whatever this dispute was??

Fascinating story about someone failing to see red flag after red flag. I’m still a little confused about how this relationship lasted so long. I also feel like this could have been summarized in three episodes and we didn’t need two whole episodes about how Kirat feels so victimized and ignored by the police.

Off the bat, minus one star because the final episode is hidden behind a paywall. I listened to all the ads (and there were many) only to find I don’t have access to the entirety of episodes. Overall I didn’t find Kirat to be a sympathetic character in this tangled web in which she was, ironically, the only real person in a cast of fabricated characters. She’s young enough to understand catfishing and she’s old enough to know that after several years, there can’t be THAT many complications to keep you from seeing someone. I didn’t get much insight into what’s mentally wrong with Kirat that she was so desperate for Bobby after a decade of her life was wasted on his excuses AND her ongoing obsession with this. Get therapy and move on, ma’am. Minus a second star for the podcaster not taking a deeper dive into the juicy details and making the listener feel like they were with Kirat during this decade-long con. It’s a huge chunk of time and there were certainly more details available than what was covered.

A deep, complex story brilliantly told by a top-notch podcast host.

This is one of the craziest catfish stories I’ve ever heard!

People that fall for catfishing do have some responsibility. It is important to verify information and use common sense. When you don’t, it is you who wasted time, money and resources and you need to figure out why you would rather have a fake relationship and believe all the lies than find a real one. When it gets in deep I think people get too embarrassed to realize the truth or deep down they always knew. Definitely something wrong with someone doing this to someone else but you have to sign up for it.

I hate to victim shame but no, this couldn’t happen to anyone. You have to be a certain level of dense/gullible. And yes, I know about coercive situations.

This story is BONKERS and a near-perfect podcast!

I couldn’t stop listening. Finding out why people do something like this is important for learning how to protect ourselves from this kind of predation. Thank you for a great listen.

Very well done.

Thanks to this podcast I’ve realized that my previous relationship was one of coercive control. I had never thought of it that way, only believing that my partner had been a narcissist. Thank you for educating the audience on this subject. And the show was very intriguing - I couldn’t put it down.

This is so silly.

I enjoyed every minute of it—darn near perfect. My only complaint is that it left me wanting. You owe all survivors of Coercive Control one more show. You left us only knowing that the police were considering taking the case up again…That’s not enough. We need to know what happened. It’s important and it affects peoples lives and decisions they make in their own lives.

Unbelievable is my reaction. Thank you Alexi Mostrous for this well done podcast. You’ve made me a big fan of your work. I was completely drawn into each episode. I really hope this true story becomes a tv series. Everyone will need to see it to even believe it.

Turns out law enforcement is useless everywhere…. Shocker.

Worth a listen….binged it all in a single night, very gripping

This podcast is phenomenal!

a must listen

I don’t know how I found out about this podcast but as soon as I listen to the first episode I was hooked! Listened in one sitting and wish there was more. I feel for her and hope she gets what she needs to feel while again. I want to know what happened to S😡

the host of this low-level farce compares it to Othello. In reality, it’s merely a low-level TV reality skein that focuses on the host’s angst about pursuing it while purposely throwing the victim under the bus in service to his own narcissism—which exceeds even the perp’s.