Daria Gusa was 16 and still at school, when she says she received a private message on Instagram from Andrew Tate, a high-profile influencer almost 20 years older than her. Romanian teens explain how Andrew Tate approached them.
“It just read ‘Romanian girl’ and he put some flirty emoji,” Daria told me. “I was confused because I [only] had 200 followers, and it was a private account.”
She is one of two teenagers who have described to the sources how Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan approached them online, apparently using a standard formula.
“It was obvious we were high-school girls,” Daria said. “We had our high school in our bio and everything. I think he was just trying to find girls who were as innocent or naïve as possible, in my opinion.”
She showed us a screenshot of the message, which she never replied to. But she says some of her friends did.
Daria, who’s now at university in the UK, is the daughter of a prominent Romanian politician and feels able to speak out publicly when others have refused to go on the record.
The Tate brothers are currently in 30-day custody in Romania while police investigate allegations of rape and trafficking, which both men deny.
In video posted online Andrew Tate appears to instruct others on how to approach women on social media.
“In my experience, what raises intrigue [and] inspires them to respond [is]… I ask where they are,” he says in the recording.
“Sometimes [for] intrigue, I’ll put a completely pointless emoji on the end: some cherries, or an orange, or a strawberry.”
Since sharing her experiences, Daria says many young men have accused her of lying.
“Even guys that I used to know from high school are calling me a liar for saying I once received a message from Andrew Tate,” she told me. “But [they] don’t find anything strange about all the other allegations.”
There is nothing illegal in the Tate brothers contacting girls of 16 or 17 online, or inviting them out.
But the testimony of these young women, along with Andrew Tate’s comments online, suggest a pre-planned method for initiating contact.
The source has seen the screenshots that appear to support the claims made by these women. The messages appear to be sent from handles whose username matches that used by Andrew and Tristan Tate before they were banned from the application.
However, the source has been unable to independently verify their authenticity, or establish whether the messages were sent by Andrew and Tristan Tate themselves or someone working on their behalf.
The source has put these allegations to the Tate brothers through their lawyer, and asked for their response.Social media updates have continued to appear on Andrew Tate’s accounts, even while he’s in custody.
