Simran Bhogal's explanation for 10-year catfishing ordeal in Netflix's Sweet Bobby

*Warning: Contains major spoilers for Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare*

A gripping new Netflix documentary, which tells the tale of a London radio host who was catfished for nearly a decade, has left viewers captivated and some demanding a 'trigger warning'.

Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare, based on a popular investigative podcast bearing the same name, traces the journey of Kirat Assi who found herself entangled in what is believed to be one of the longest-running catfishing scams ever recorded in the UK.

The Londoner initiated a relationship through Facebook with a cardiologist named Bobby Jandu. This connection transitioned from friendship to romance, and eventually an engagement, without any physical meeting ever taking place.

While Bobby was indeed a real individual, the account that Kirat was interacting with was not genuine, reports the Mirror. In a shocking turn of events, the documentary unveils that the person operating the Bobby Facebook account was actually Kirat's cousin, Simran Bhogal.

The truth only came to light when Kirat chose to employ a private investigator to find her lover's actual address after he declined to meet her, despite allegedly flying from New York to the UK specifically for that purpose following her request for an in-person meeting.

When she arrived at the given address, a man named Bobby answered the door, but insisted he wasn't the man she had been communicating with - even though he looked exactly like him. In a state of confusion, Kirat called Simran for support and handed the phone to the real Bobby who was on the verge of contacting the police, concerned for his family's safety.

The looming threat of police intervention led Simran to finally confess the truth - she was the person behind the Bobby account, maintaining this deception for nine years from 2009 to 2018.

Viewers have been left pondering why Simran began catfishing her cousin, and why she sustained it for such a lengthy period. Although Simran does not feature in the Netflix documentary, a statement issued on her behalf emphasises that "she considers it a private matter and strongly objects to what she describes as numerous unfounded and damaging accusations."

The podcast Sweet Bobby provides some additional insight into the catfishing saga. Speaking to the host of the podcast, journalist Alexi Mostrous, Kirat divulged the contents of a letter penned by Simran as part of a civil case.

"It was an emotional letter and it was all like she would change everything if she could and it was all very gushing and 'I’m sorry for all the hurt and pain I’ve caused', and all what you’d expect someone to say," she said.

"It was the same as what she said when she confessed, that she was in a dark place… She honestly believed we were both in a dark place and living in this alternative reality or this fantasy world that she created was bringing us both some kind of happiness or joy."

Sweet Bobby is now available to stream on Netflix