(Credits: Netflix)

Sweet Bobby is a recently released Netflix documentary series following the true story of Kirat Assi, a woman catfished by her cousin, Simran Bhogal. For nearly a decade, Assi belied that she was dating a man called Bobby.

In a turn of events, Assi never met Bobby in person after being told multiple likes about his health and events in his personal life that interrupted their planned meetings, such as Bobby having a stroke, entering witness protection and going through a divorce. The pair would occasionally talk on the phone, with Bobby claiming that his voice sounded different as a result of the stroke, which had damaged his vocal cords. 

Bhogal went to extreme lengths to maintain this lie, with over 60 Facebook accounts created and additional characters to corroborate her story, with messages sent to Assi claiming to be Bobby’s doctor and family whenever she grew suspicious about his reasons for not being able to meet in person.

Assi eventually discovered the truth in 2018, and later created a podcast in which she detailed the ordeal. The success of the podcast took Assi by surprise, and Netflix later approached her to create a documentary about her story. Assi hoped that mainstream attention on her story would help other people who had experienced the same thing and perhaps influence the changing of the UK laws in which catfishing is not a legal offence.  

However, Assi has recently spoken about how the ‘real’ Bobby’s reaction to the series hasn’t been what she hoped, saying to Hello Magazine, “Bobby and I haven’t spoken. I’m a little bit disappointed. I think he’s only just realised in the last couple of months how closely connected we are, but that’s not on record anywhere. I’ve tried to make sure that everybody in the journey is looked after, doesn’t feel vulnerable, everybody’s safe, but then you sometimes feel like you’re alone in that responsibility. I don’t feel like anyone else feels that back for me”.  

Assi expanded on this, saying, “For me it’s not even pushing for the meeting. It’s about doing it on their side if they could. For me, I’ve talked about the community being the issue. For me, as the time’s gone on since the confession, they are the community”.  

While the ‘real’ Bobby featured in the documentary, Assi has not met him since the release of the show. Bobby is a cardiologist based in London, explaining his shock at discovering that his identity was used in this scheme and the lengths that Bhogal went to to steal his identity. 

Assi has been met with mixed responses since the release of the show, with some viewers being deeply sympathetic to what she went through and others criticising her for not realising sooner that she was being catfished. Furthermore, Assi has spoken about her own feelings of shame around sharing her story, but how ultimately, she wants people to know that this could happen to anyone and for those who have the same experience to feel less alone.  

Assi filed for a civil action lawsuit against Bhogal, in which she received compensation and an apology from her cousin.