On Valentine's Day in 2024, anAtlanta woman sat in her car with hair wrapped in heatless curlers and told a story of discovery on TikTok.
The woman called the series "Who TF Did I Marry?!?" and over the course of more than 50 videos, she detailed how her ex-husband lied, cheated and stole his way through their relationship.
That first video has more than 33 million views, and the series would go on to become a viral sensation, inspiring spinoff videos, reaction clips across the internet and a television show.
The woman, whose name is Tareasa Johnson, is now digging deeper into the gripping story with a book titled "What (TF) Do I Do Now?" which was released on Tuesday.
Here's what we know.
'Who TF Did I Marry' series goes viral on TikTok
Over the course of the video series, Johnson said her former
partner exhibited the "United Nations of red flags" after the two matched on both Hinge and the Facebook dating site.
They met in March 2020 and quickly started talking over the phone, and the man said he had recently been transferred to the Georgia branch of his company. On her way to their first date, Johnson's car blew a tire on I-285, and when she called to let him know, the man brought her a new tire, and they were able to continue on their date.
But as the timeline would foreshadow, the COVID-19 pandemic began shortly after, and the two made the decision to quarantine together.
Their connection grew, and the couple started house shopping. However, this was when Johnson started to see facts and stories not lining up.
Her former partner was not able to show any proof of his financial standing in the bank; a car he ordered for her never arrived, and she learned key facts he told her about his life were lies.
The couple still got married in 2022, but his stories continued to unravel. Johnson started looking into his background and found he had lied about where he was from, what he did for work, when family members of his had died, the number of siblings he had, and his bank statements were screenshots off of Google.
The two were later divorced.
In part 50 of the series, Johnson said her former partner had never loved her, and she believed he didn't even like her after so many promises of trips and experiences were lies.
"There's a level of cruelty to my ex-husband that I had never experienced before, and God knows I pray I never experience it again," Johnson said in her final video.
The series resonated with people around the world, and Johnson went on to talk about her experience on television shows, in interviews, and more.
What (TF) Do I Do Now?
Six years after the man came into her life, Johnson is now digging deeper into her experience and providing more details about the years-long deception she fell victim to.
"What (TF) Do I Do Now? Reclaiming Myself, One Piece at a Time" was released on Aug. 18.
"Through reflection, acceptance, and humor, Tareasa unravels even more details of what caused her to stay in a partnership where familiarity became too comfortable, and loneliness was a scarier proposition than owning her solitude," according to publisher Penguin Random House. "Tareasa's indelible voice and keen perspective shares now, engrossing stories and practical insights as she regains her footing and her faith in herself, offering readers the chance to do the same."
Irene Wright is the Atlanta Connect reporter with USA Today’s Deep South Connect team. Find her on X @IreneEWright or email her at ismith@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tareasa Johnson revisits TikTok divorce saga in new memoir
